Wisconsin Private Choice Schools Score Half as Proficient as Public Schools!!!

Are we trying to give Republicans, including Scott Walker, a pass on their public education legacy following Act 10? I think yes?

My head is exploding over the recently released 2019 Student Assessment Scores and the coverage.

Republicans Attack Teachers and Slash School Funding: Let's start with the first obvious story that should point voters to the guilty party: Republicans and the 8 years of trashing teachers and public education.

WSJ: Wisconsin has had the second deepest slash in per-student spending in the nation since 2008 — second only to Alabama — according to a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Alabama and Wisconsin led the list of at least 35 states providing less funding per student than they did before the recession hit.

Surprise, Teacher Exodus and Vilification took Toll: Scott Walker and the gerrymandered Majority Republicans started the ball rolling with Act 10. And they were warned, but...

CapTimes: Tim Slekar, the dean of Edgewood College’s School of Education, regularly meets with about a dozen prospective students each semester. “I’ve sat here and done it more than once where an interested student and their parents come in, and the parents say, ‘Yeah, she wants to be a teacher but we told her we’re not supportive of that decision.’”

...students see experienced educators leave the profession earlier than anticipated. Of those who leave teaching before retirement age, many cite a lack of support from school administrators as well as high stress and low morale.

Take notice conservative voters, Republican Rep. Robin Vos is once again trying to pass blame, to distract you by feigning outrage over something he was responsible for:

JS: Less than half of Wisconsin students again this year are considered to be proficient in reading and math — a trend Assembly Speaker Robin Vos on Thursday called "disturbing." "Wisconsin students deserve an excellent education no matter where they attend school ... taxpayers deserve to know why we’re not seeing better results.”

Hey, Look at the Voucher School Scores!!! I didn't even know "choice" voucher schools were included in the state average until I read this in Molly Beck's JS coverage:

The release included scores from students at private voucher schools, which Republicans have backed expanding in three consecutive state budgets since 2011. Among students in private voucher schools, 22% were considered proficient or advanced in reading and 18% in math.

Much of the coverage I read failed to mention or even compare the public school scores with the voucher choice debacle. So I went to the Department of Public Instruction website. Take a look at the voucher school scores funneling money away from public education. If this were a Democratic program, Republicans would be having a tantrum, and yet Vos is taking aim at public school scores?:

Who Knew Online "Virtual Academy," was the Biggest Waste of Money? We did: Virtual schools nationwide are a disaster, but they are still allowed under the privatization banner to exist and drain even more taxpayer money. McFarland knew this but backed the idea anyway. McFarland even managed to keep Wisconsin Virtual Academy's scores from being averaged into the districts public school results. That should tell you something:

One question remains; where are the Democrats hiding? Why hasn't Gov. Evers come out with a statement? 

DeVos on Historically Black Colleges and University's: "...real pioneers when it comes to choice."

Education Sec. Betsy DeVos, who never went to a public school, proved how bad that choice was with this bumbling voucher choice sales pitch using historically black colleges and university's:

DeVos linked black colleges to the issue of school choice -- a cause for which she is an advocate.

"HBCUs are real pioneers when it comes to school choice. They are living proof that when more options are provided to students, they are afforded greater access and greater quality. Their success has shown that more options help students flourish."

That resulted in a few incredibly controlled responses:

Slate ran a column last night with the headline: "Insane Betsy DeVos Press Release Celebrates Jim Crow Education System as Pioneer of 'School Choice.'"

DeLusional DeVos DeVoid of DeSmarts.

Well, I guess we can finally put the last nail in the coffin when it comes to the myth of “fiscal conservatism.” That’s just so much bullshit.

Trump’s education pick of Betsy DeVos proved that point beyond words. Oddly, it was Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska that said it best last week when she announced her opposition:

“I have serious concerns about a nominee to be secretary of education who has been so involved in one side of the equation, so immersed in the push for vouchers, that she may be unaware of what actually is successful within the public schools, and also what is broken and how to fix them.”

Ya think? What sane person, or even Trump voter, would back putting someone in a position this important, with absolutely no experience whatsoever? For all the years DeVos opposed public schools, you'd think she would have researched the topic:

She has never run, taught in, attended or sent a child to an American public school, and her confirmation hearings laid bare her ignorance of education policy and scorn for public education itself. 

In her Senate hearing, Ms. DeVos appeared largely ignorant of challenges facing college students, as well. She indicated that she was skeptical of Education Department policies to prevent fraud by for-profit colleges — a position favored, no doubt, by Mr. Trump, who just settled a fraud case against his so-called Trump University for $25 million. It was not clear that she understood how various student loan and aid programs worked, or could distinguish between them.

(DeVos) lobbied to shut down the troubled Detroit public school system and channel the money to charter, private or religious schools, regardless of their performance. She also favors online private schools, an alternative that most leading educators reject as destructive to younger children’s need to develop peer relationships, and an industry prone to scams.

Trump voters have exposed their own scam; it's not government they hate, they hate not having power. So now they're suddenly okay with taxpayers funding religious schools and throwing money into unaccountable private black holes because anecdotal stories affirm their agenda. I remember one survey that showed parental satisfaction wasn't based on grades, which were lower, but on the feeling they did something, their kids were safer, and their child happier. Their kids didn't feel that way in the survey at all, just the opposite.  

"Choice" is just another manipulation, to appeal to every parents insecurity over doing the right thing for their kid:

"Why School Vouchers Don't Matter" by Kevin Carey in the Chronicle Review laid out what I consider one of the best arguments against voucher schools:“The D.C. voucher program does none of these things. No new schools have been built as a result, no groundbreaking programs created, competition spurred, or innovators attracted…
 …there remains the point that some parents among the lower classes do not understand educational opportunities when they are presented to them. Nor would they be able to make informed choices on their children’s behalf. For instance, just tonight I had a heated discussion with my working class mother about my nephew being admitted into a program for gifted youngsters at his public elementary school. She thought it would be a waste of time.

 Some studies suggest that a similar attitude becomes more common the lower down the economic ladder we look. To ignore this obstacle, and pretend every parent has the capacity to make the same informed decision a college- or law school-educated person can make, remains one abiding problem with the voucher system. Choice does not automatically level the playing field if the choosers have different backgrounds informing those choices.— Cassandra

Remember when sending kids to private schools meant helping the poor escape failing public education?

Manufacturing and big Ag aren't paying state taxes anymore. Now we're finding out the wealthy aren't paying much for their kids to go to private schools.

Anyone see a pattern? You better soon...

Tax filers making more than $100,000 a year are claiming two-thirds of a private school tuition tax cut enacted four years ago, according to data from the Department of Revenue.

The tax cut is costing the state about $12 million a year ... Families sending students to private school can reduce their adjusted gross income by up to $10,000 for high school tuition and up to $4,000 for elementary school tuition. The private school tuition exclusion, similar to an exclusion for a retirement account contribution, reduces a tax filer’s income before deductions and credits are applied, so the actual amount in tax savings is a few hundred dollars per tax filer. Unlike a tax deduction, filers don’t have to itemize to benefit from it.

Almost $8 million of the total $12 million cut went to families in the top 13 percent of income earners in the state in 2015. A total of 20,560 tax filers making more than $100,000 claimed the exclusion, receiving a tax cut of about $388 per filer, according to DOR. Another 16,750 filers earning less than $100,000 claimed the exclusion. Their average tax savings was $235.

That wealthier tax filers receive a greater benefit is not surprising because they are more likely to send their children to private school, said Todd Berry, president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. Pattern of tax cuts: Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling (D), said the private school tuition tax break is part of a pattern for Republicans of supporting tax cuts that benefit the wealthy. Democrats have also criticized the Manufacturing & Agriculture tax credit for wiping out tax liability for wealthy individuals and corporations without any requirement they create jobs.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said in 2013 the tax cut would boost private school enrollment, reducing the “huge tax burden” of educating students in public schools. 

 Educating our kids in public schools is a burden? Good to know:

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers said his biggest concern with the tax credit was that it was passed without a public hearing. He also noted the number of referendums ... “If indeed a whole bunch of people in Wisconsin think they need to go to referendum in order to offer the education kids need, that tells me the state isn’t meeting its obligation. If the state is not meeting its obligation to schools, then how can we afford to subsidize private education for above-average income people?”

Rick Melcher, another candidate for state superintendent, called the tuition tax cut a “benefit package for wealthy individuals who would send their children to private school anyway.” He recommended capping eligibility for the tax cut at those making less than $100,000.

Vouchers Satisfy Parents, play to their Insecurities!

It's funny and deceptive the way Republicans like Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, a former teacher, steer clear of the 25 year substandard private voucher school record, by touting how "satisfied" parents are with the program.

The old cliche "parents know what's best for their children," is getting a lot of mileage, and is patently ridiculous. Really, parents somehow have an innate insight into the latest teaching techniques and course work they feel is best for their kids?

From WPR audio this morning, Thiesfeldt did the old switcheroo, shifting from a callers question about private school accountability to the magical "satisfaction" levels of voucher parents. And he thought I wouldn't notice:



Republicans have always played on the fears and insecurities of parents who want to do what's right for their kids. Giving them "a choice" is nothing but manipulative pandering. Thiesfeldt pointed to studies of satisfied parents. I just happen to remember that study:

According to the University of Arkansas: Researchers with the School Choice Demonstration Project report that having a choice of where to send their children to school boosts their satisfaction with and involvement in schools (in Washington, D.C.). 

That’s right, parents are more satisfied simply because they got to choose. But are kids more educated? Three quarters of the voucher parents didn't care. Public schools aren't held to that same standard: 

Patrick Wolf, director of the School Choice Demonstration Project said, “Even D.C. parents whose children ended up returning to public schools tended to say that they were happy that they at least had a choice.” 

After decades of bashing, even laughing at the idea of smaller class sizes, Republican backed vouchers schools can't play it up enough, finding a very receptive audience of appreciative parents. Still, it's all about touchy feely stuff and not about better academic outcomes:

The factors these parents considered most important in making a choice included smaller class sizes, school safety, religious or values-based environment and rigorous academic curriculum ... Many parents placed greater emphasis on attitudes and behavior of their children, rather than test scores, as a basis for evaluating their progress. None of the parents polled considered standardized test scores when assessing their children’s progress.

President George W. Bush's NCLB's testing extravaganza emphasized testing as a way to fail most schools, so they could be turned into private religious schools. Testing went into overdrive and that's why we have what we have today. But for vouchers, testing isn't important:

Most parents measure their children’s progress almost exclusively by the level of enthusiasm the students express ... Actual grades and test scores are secondary concerns. By this standard, the vast majority of families reported that their children are succeeding or progressing in very important ways.

That same caller gave Thiesfeldt an example of how cutting education funding can actually hurting our kids. Of course, Thiesfeldt lamented the tight budget he and his band of plundering republican pirates have created.



Remember when everyone in the state paid taxes and supported education and infrastructure? Not anymore, since manufacturers and big ag got a $240 million tax cut and soon won't be paying any state tax at all. That's freeloading, sticking even conservative tightwad voters with the bill. And not a peep.  

Republican School Accountability Disaster Political Meddling from not-so-smart Freeloading Legislators.

WISC's Jessica Arp, covering the ever changing school accountability legislation, showed us all just how out of whack the Republican are in dealing with the realities of making schools even better than they already are.

In two important stories, local districts don't like what they're seeing, especially when it comes to the simple minded grading system. Instead of rating the strengths and weaknesses of each school, the GOP authority is pushing A through F grades. Really?

Overall scores will bring down a schools total average unfairly, so they appear to be failing, forcing a quicker switch over to private schools. There's a more responsible way to do this. Like your own child's report card, it's much better to see where they have strengths, so you can direct more time working on their weaknesses. This works for schools and businesses alike.



Edgwood College Dean of Education Tim Slekar trashed the idea, calling the penalties "Hunger Games for kids." Accountability has for decades helped schools adapt and improve over time. The myth created around the drive to go private, that public schools are failing, will become a reality if Republicans get their way. From a past WKOW Capitol City Sunday, Slekar doesn't hold back:



One radio caller was right in suggesting a similar grading system for each lawmaker and for the assembly and senate. They collect big paychecks, so how come they don't get a written evaluation?

Vouchers program violating Wisconsin Constitution, allows "sectarian instruction!"

I  thought this was an interesting line about public education in our state constitution:

"as nearly uniform as practicable; and such schools shall be free and without charge for tuition to all children between the ages of 4 and 20 years; and no sectarian instruction shall be allowed therein."

There's nothing there okaying the funding of religious schools through vouchers, even if public schools are also an option. Our constitution does not allow religious instruction...at all, with taxpayer money.

Anyone else a little surprised? And yet in Wisconsin...well here's a headline from 2013:

And yet our constitution says "no sectarian instruction shall be allowed therein." If it's public, no religion. Perhaps someone can answer how Wisconsin is getting around the state constitution. I'm just curious. Our incidental governor, who isn't swayed by polls or anything the public wants, has decided to expand vouchers despite mounting opposition: 

Taxpayers throw all their voucher money into Christian Religion Schools! These aren't "Choice" schools, they're Sunday Schools.

This Northwestern Oshkosh news story failed to mention the most important issue:

A total of 78 students are getting state-funded vouchers this year to attend private schools in the Oshkosh area.

All 78 students are going to Christian schools, and most of that voucher cash is ending up in the pockets of those who already have kids in those schools.

Scott Walker's promise to expand the program statewide will by default, which would create a separate parallel publically funded religious based school system. The government would then be establishing a religion, in this case Christianity. We've always assumed the Constitution prevented the establishment of "a" religion. But nothing in the 1st Amendment prevents the establishment of a number of religions.  

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...

No one seems to have a problem with that?  

Holy cow, Scott Walker wants to help the wealthy get all of us to pay for their kid’s private school.

This ought to go over well with voters in many of Wisconsin's great school districts. It's also an unexpected but welcome gift to Mary Burke from the Walker campaign, especially after recent research and testing have shown how voucher schools came in at or below public schools scores on math and reading.

But why let actual result get in the way of ideology:   

jsonline: Walker said if he's re-elected, he would support a significant or wholesale lifting of the enrollment cap on the 2-year-old statewide private school voucher program, particularly for low-income students but also potentially for students from families with higher incomes.

Suggesting that Act 10 has been an amazing success, instead of  the slow disaster we’re seeing first in rural schools, is insane. The Walker campaign is trying to vilify Mary Burke for her public service on the Madison School Board, while trying to make people forget he cut school funding more than every other state except one:

So what's so hard to understand?

Walker said his opponent in the gubernatorial race, Mary Burke, sits on the school board of the Madison Metropolitan School District that will be the only school district in the state next year not adhering to the Act 10 law next school year.

Ouch, how horrific? Walker loves campaign money from former politicians who've become lobbyists for private schools interests, over Mary Burke’s support from actual teachers and the remaining state unions. Lobbyist cash is a whole lot better than money spent by teachers, right?

Walker has received political and campaign support from backers of school choice. Walker said Burke is getting support from teachers unions in the form of political advertisements.  "That, at least to some, might appear to be why she's been reluctant to take on the teachers unions when it comes to options like (Act 10)," he said.

Walker is desperate of course, actually making it seem like Burke should “take on the teachers unions,” like the very concerned voucher privateers are pushing. Acting like the Democrats are against Act 10 is as surreal as Walker's empty campaign will get. It's clear, Walker never notice the Act 10 protests. So much for being a servant of the people.

Also check out Jake's TA Economic Funhouse for a detailed account of how much money the state would have to come up with to pay for expansion...$710 million? That's how it's shaping up.

With No Warning, Shocked Parents told Private School is Bankrupt in De Pere. $19,000 to $29,000 in prepaid tuition lost.

The Republican attempts to commodify our kids by privatizing our public schools introduces a number of other major downsides to their movement.

Private Schools can do anything they want: I want to highlight the last line in the story below:

"Parents were angered by the closing, saying no one ever warned them the school was struggling financially."

Private schools don't have to tell parents anything. And private school closings don't get nearly enough media coverage as it should. Just consider the devastating effects on students and families left scrambling to find another school-usually a public one. Search my blog with the key words "charter" and "voucher," and you'll see what I mean. It's not a pretty picture. 

Here's another reason why having a reliable, accountable public school system is so important:

AP: A private school in De Pere has closed and filed for bankruptcy, leaving some parents out nearly $30,000 in tuition payments.

A Press-Gazette Media report says the Wisconsin International School filed for bankruptcy this month. The school has estimated assets of $50,000, but liabilities of about $550,000.

Under the terms of the bankruptcy, parents who prepaid their tuition likely won't get it back. The bankruptcy filing says two families each paid more than $29,000, and several others paid about $19,000.

School officials offered little explanation when they shut down the school last month. It sent notices to parents saying it couldn't balance its books due to declining enrollment and fundraising shortfalls.

Parents were angered by the closing, saying no one ever warned them the school was struggling financially.

The dirty little secret Republicans don't want to tell parents about private schools? Important information about declining enrollment for some charter and vouchers schools never needs to be disclosed.

Walker Editorial tries to Shame Justice Department into backing off School Choice Discrimination investigation.

One party could not be this hypocritical...or could they?

For a party that continues to seek out proof Obama messed up Benghazi, might be to blame for the mess in Iraq, possibly faked his birth certificate, and broke the law with signing statements, they’re now crying foul over the Department of Justice’s investigation into possible discrimination against students with disabilities in the school choice programs? Amazing!

And Scott Walker is leading the down-the-rabbit-hole charge by saying that without proof, how can the justice department turn up...proof? It’s like calling off the John Doe investigation to uncover wrong doing because there’s no proof of wrong doing. My head is hurting now.

Along with being one of the dumbest excuses yet, Walker and Jindal seem to think that without parental complaints, laws weren't broken. Basically, we're supposed to believe the word of business. Plus, Walker chose to ignore the fact that school choice had expanded well beyond minority groups:

jsonline: Gov. Scott Walker has co-authored a commentary in Politico Magazine with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal criticizing the Obama Administration for challenging school choice programs in Wisconsin and Louisiana.

In the piece: "Why would the federal Department of Justice cite the Civil Rights Act and the specter of segregation to try and block a school choice program where more than nine in 10 participants come from racial minority groups? Or use the Americans with Disabilities Act to claim another school voucher program discriminates against individuals with disabilities, without so much as a single complaint from a student or parent to prove their case?"

The two governors are citing a National Review commentary co-authored by Rick Esenberg and C.J. Szafir, both of the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, criticizing a Department of Justice inquiry into whether private schools in Wisconsin were turning away students with disabilities.

Ellen Canale, public affairs specialist at the Justice Department, said the agency was working to make sure school choice programs are adhering to civil rights laws.

If laws weren't broken, then why is Walker and Jindal opposed to looking into the choice program? After all, the public has a right to know how their money is being spent, right?

UPDATE: I thought this comment was important enough to include in this post:

The Walker/Jindal statement about there being no parent complaints is misleading/untrue on two levels.

Level 1: The fact is that no formal state complaint mechanism exists... in other words, if we do not allow official complaints, then there will be none.

Level 2: But there WERE complaints. In the absence of a state complaint mechanism, families of students with special needs took their charges to Disability Rights Wisconsin and the ACLU. Those two organizations filed a formal complaint in 2011, which in turn led to the very DOJ investigation that the Politico piece is decrying! In other words, it's all ABOUT the family complaints!

A summary of some of those family complaints was published in a Journal Sentinel column in May 2013.

The ACLU has also responded in a July 8 piece of their own.

To me, the most disturbing thing about the Walker/Jindal column is the way it "disappears" families of students with special needs. Their experiences of discrimination, that they documented to DRW and the ACLU, apparently simply don't exist, because they've been declared not to exist. 

An ACLU article highlighted this reason for asking documentation:

"DPI must further ensure that voucher schools, absent a valid ADA defense, do not expel/exit a student with a disability unless the school has first determined, on a case-by-case basis, that there are no reasonable modifications to school policies, practices or procedures that could enhance the school's capacity to serve that student."

Candidate and Milton Friedman wannabee Jonathan Steitz pushes free market education in Wisconsin.

What the...after going through the hell of No Child Left Behind, student testing, teacher testing, privatizing schools that fail, GOP candidate Jonathan Steitz is now pushing a completely unregulated voucher school system statewide with no accountability - A Milton Friedman free market fantasy.

Get this: $12,000 savings accounts controlled by parents? What could go wrong?

Will these guys ever make up their mind? Friedman's plan left everything up to the free market; good schools, bad schools, bad students, children with needs, poverty...whatever. Try watching the YouTube Friedman debate located here (at 27:30 in). The pundits were much smarter than the smirking know-it-all free marketer.

Someone like Friedman, who has an answer for everything and is never stumped, is obviously winging it. The biggest joke? This guy won a Nobel prize for economic science for gods sake. His grand scheme never took off, did it. In Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine a few dictatorial countries tried Friedman's plan and failed miserably.

With over 20 years of what has been proven to be a failed voucher system in Milwaukee, we definitively know Friedman was wrong. But the real reason for vouchers?

Milton Friedman: “Vouchers are not an end in themselves; they are a means to make a transition from a government to a free-market system.”

Here's audio of Steitz on Upfront with Mike Gousha. He not only wants a free market educational system, but he's nearly doubling the amount of money taxpayers will contribute to each voucher. Vouchers were supposed to be a bargain that accomplished the same thing, remember? That no longer applies either:

WISGOP's Brian Schimming stumped and stumbles over Voucher School Failure explanation...ah, now it's about student safety.

The studies have been very clear about the voucher and charter school failure in Milwaukee. Over 22 years and counting, it's not working. If you include the rest of the state, the story's the same; private voucher and charter schools don't measure up. It's that simple:

It's one thing to be a professional conservative spin meisters like Brian Schimming, vice chair of the Wisconsin Republican Party and WIBA fill-in talk host, but it's something completely different to even suggest the WKCE statewide test scores aren't a legitimate way to measure progress.

"Well first of all, I take...ha-ha...issue with some of those...some of those tests, and some of those studies. But even without that, the Milwaukee school district is so troubled..." 

22 plus years Brian, still nothing, right? Schimming's folksy chuckling is not just grating but a familiar tactic used to stall and make bullshit sound like off-the-cuff common sense.

Republicans like Schimming don't care about the numbers and the voucher failure, it's now all about school safety. Nice way to duck the research. Here's audio from WPR:

GOP Voucher School Success?

So, let’s expand the voucher privatization efforts statewide?

It will be interesting to see how Republicans defend media questions about the poor test results, IF they’re ever asked by reporters in the first place.

But the spin is already whirling around the topic, as exemplified by this ridiculously deceptive headline in the Journal Sentinel:

Lags? WKOW put the following graphics together that offered the most breathtaking and honest assessment.

Vouchers have been a complete and unmistakable disaster.

The Wisconsin State Journal left the spin out with this headline, "Wisconsin voucher schools show lower test scores compared to public schools." Just as interesting is the opt out penalty, where schools are discouraged from trying to hide their failings by not testing as many kids. The "statewide" voucher schools do not include Milwaukee or Racine: 

Students attending private schools receiving taxpayer-funded vouchers in a new statewide program did not score as high overall as public school students on state tests in reading and math ... 48.6 percent of all students enrolled in public schools scored proficient or advanced in math and 36.6 percent in reading ... Just 578 of more than 432,000 public school students in tested grades didn’t take the test under the opt-out provision.

Of the 272 (voucher) students enrolled in tested grades in the statewide program, 33.2 percent scored proficient and advanced in both reading and math. But that percentage doesn’t include 61 students — or 22.4 percent — that opted out of taking the state tests.

When those who opted out were included in the total and counted as not scoring proficient — as is the case for public school students who opt out — (vouchers) 25.7 percent scored proficient or advanced overall.

Graphics from both the State Journal and Journal Sentinel:

Republicans take the "certainty" out of going to school the full year with the introduction of Vouchers.

How would you like to be a parent whose child's school closed down at the beginning of the holiday break? They didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to their fellow classmates.

Or how about all those parents relying on that school being there all school year, finding out the schools owner had decided to shut it down for health problems?

Private schools receiving taxpayer vouchers can do anything they want, like close at any time. And parents are stuck holding the bag, scrambling to find another school that has room?

That's the kind of “uncertainty” Republicans have brought to families all over Wisconsin with their ideologically driven efforts to privatize schools for profit. Your kid is a commodity now, in a move that makes them a little less human:

jsonline: The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has moved to boot another private school from receiving taxpayer money through the Milwaukee voucher program … Washington DuBois Christian Leadership Academy, a K-6 voucher school at 5226 W. Hampton Ave. … failed to meet financial and administrative reporting requirements, according to the DPI.

If that wasn't reason enough to piss parents off, try this on for size:

The school's administrator, Michael Hutchinson, closed the school last week. But he said Monday he shut down the program because of his failing health from Parkinson's disease, not because of the DPI decision.

So the simple “certainty” of having your kid in school all year long is now just another fading relic of the past.

The 110 students who were enrolled will have to attend new schools after the holiday break.

Schools no longer an Investment: And the cost to taxpayers supporting poorly run schools over a number of years?

The school has received millions of dollars in voucher payments over the years, through a program that currently pays $6,442 annually per qualifying pupil. The school's accreditation was also called into question. A school with a similar accreditation issue — Dr. Brenda Noach Choice School — was barred by the DPI from participating in the voucher program this school year.

Public on to Voucher Con, taxpayer support of Religious Teaching.

The following recent poll results reflecting public's dissatisfaction over voucher laws being passed nationwide by Republicans, is not good news coming into the midterm elections. It is good news for Democrats who have reflected the public mood for years. Maybe this time parents will have had enough;  

Ed Week: This year's annual PDK/Gallup Poll on American attitudes toward public

schools found that while charter schools enjoy (70 percent) broad support, many of those surveyed—70 percent—oppose vouchers for private school tuition … 70 percent opposed allowing taxpayer dollars to cover families' private tuition costs, the highest proportion of opposition to vouchers in the history of the survey and an increase of 15 percent points from last year alone. 

So of course opponents trashed the results, because it didn't fit into their extensive “parents know what’s best” campaigns to exploit the insecurities many families feel about being "good parents." Marketing, by the way, that aims to turn our kids into customers and profits. 

Flimsy excuses about “poorly designed questions” abound as privateers worry that buying off Republicans legislators, who end up passing voucher schemes without public support, is now working against them. Big surprise. Funny, conservative whiners aren’t saying the same thing about the “poorly designed questions” regarding ObamaCare, which has wider support than vouchers.   

The Friedman Foundation for Education Choice said in an email statement to Education Week that "compared with findings from other recent surveys on school vouchers, the PDK/Gallup poll is an outlier.” 

They’re welcome to the Bizarro World opinion, but that doesn't change the polling results. Perhaps they can explain why another group pushing vouchers opposed the poll even before knowing the results?

Before the survey was even officially released, the Center for Education Reform came out in opposition to the survey itself. The center's president, Jeanne Allen, said she "expects that the 2013 poll will again feature poorly designed questions, potentially leading to a misrepresentation of how the public feels about school choice, charter schools, and other issues related to education reform."

Judging by all the Wisconsin communities that oppose vouchers in their neighborhoods, I’d say the poll was right on the money, wasted taxpayer money.

In many ways it’s also turning out to be a life saver for religious schools struggling to stay open. I've been holding onto the following clip about our own statewide voucher program, that proves it’s not really about test scores or graduation rates; it’s all about religious teaching. Who wants to use taxpayer money supporting someone else’s religious beliefs on what are basically weeklong Sunday schools? 70% know have the answer. WISC:

Privatizing Public Education: "...becoming like the housing or health market...Children are customers, clients and commodities to be bought and sold."

Helen Gym, the founder of Parents United for Public Education, an organization advocating for a strong Philadelphia public school system, wrote this amazing insight into the privatization of public education:

NBC: A lot of people have said let education become like the housing or health care market -- great opportunities for those who can afford it, dramatic inequity for the rest.

We are moving very rapidly away from the notion of what it means to have something be a quality public good.  There are those who stand to profit by promoting the idea that everything is for sale -- that children are customers, clients and commodities to be bought and sold.

NEWS FLASH: Republicans propose Voucher Accountability Measures. Where have we heard that before...from the Democrats maybe?

I found this headline and story politically deceptive, and intentionally beneficial to state Republicans.

Gee, it's all the Republicans idea.

I guess it really didn't matter the Democrats have been screaming about this for years, since the Milwaukee voucher program began in the early 90's.

Democrats were just being partisan as usual, urged on by their ultra liberal base of socialists union thugs.

Now suddenly, on their watch, it's all the Republicans idea, because someday they might be held accountable for all the voucher failures and bad test scores. Remember, the voucher push was meant to be a temporary movement to instantly privatize schools, leaving Republicans free to move on. If you don't like the schools, talk to the new owners. See ya!

But taxpayers are starting to catch on, slowly but surely:

State Sen. Jennifer Shilling

WSJ: Democrats have criticized Republicans for years for expanding the state’s voucher program without having accountability measures in place. Sen. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, said she plans to introduce a bill in the next few days that would address other concerns by voucher school components, such as that they don’t require licensed teachers or background checks and aren't subject to the state’s graduation standards or open records law.

“It fails to address most of the pressing issues that are facing students and parents,” Shilling said of the Olsen/Kestell bill. “Our proposal will have a lot more significant steps to increasing oversight.”

Sorry Sen. Shilling, we may have to wait another 25 years for addressing those other pressing issues.

Thank you Scott Walker: Taxpayers Pay the rich to send their Kids to Private Schools.

Big surprise?

jsonline: More than 2,400 students have applied to receive a taxpayer-funded voucher to attend private school and the majority of them currently attend a private school.

Welcome to serfdom folks, while the 1% move forward in Scott Walker’s Wisconsin.

These two comments following story hit the mark:

"Seems more like those who can afford to go these schools have figured out that they can go for free. I'd be willing to bet the parents of most of the kids are against 'entitlements'."

"They will probably have field trips to grocery stores so they can mock people who buy meat with their food stamps."

That’s not all, public schools were given a back seat to kids already in private schools, thanks to legislation passed by Walker, who apparently didn't read the bill. That’s the opposite of giving parents in public schools choices. Walker and the legislature got caught tilting the scales:

Newsobserver: Public schools students will not get preference over those already in private school as they compete against one another for a limited number of taxpayer subsidized vouchers: Proponents argued growth was needed in order to give parents of children in public school more choices over where to send their children. Those who worked closest on the deal were apparently unaware that the final version did not ultimately give public school students preference over those already in private schools.

Amazed? Why are the following people surprised? Legislators read the bill before passing it, and Walker read the bill before signing it, right? This is government incompetence by politicians who say government can’t do anything right. It's was also pre-written by ALEC: 

Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican leaders of the Legislature — Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald — all said Wednesday the intent was to give public school children preference.

But were they surprised, or just caught? We know the answer:

"It can't be fixed," said Democratic state Rep. Sondy Pope, a longtime critic of the voucher program. "It's in place for the fall and once a family is in, they stay there." She said Republicans purposefully wrote the law to not give public school students a preference, even though they said that was their intention. "They got what they wanted," Pope said. "They say one thing and do another. It's like the fox guarding the hen house. There's not a lot we can do about it, as we're seeing right now."

Although it’s perfectly constitutional, many voucher supporters may not know, or don’t care if almost all voucher schools are religious, and parents are sending them there for religious teachings and not because of higher achievement levels and grades:

WSJ: Madison's Lighthouse Christian School is one of 25 private schools in Wisconsin that can enroll students using taxpayer-funded vouchers this fall, the Department of Public Instruction announced Thursday.

Smashing the High Graduation Rates Myth at Voucher Schools.

Education historian Diane Ravitch mentioned Milwaukee's voucher program and explained away the higher graduation rates touted by choice lobbyists and backers:

I received the following email today from Senator Mitch McConnell. He really needs to get some people on his staff who can read and understand education research.

He would learn, for example, that students in voucher schools have not outperformed students in public schools anywhere. He would learn that voucher schools appear to have a higher graduation rate because they have a huge attrition rate.

For example, in Milwaukee, 56% of the students who started vouchers schools in ninth grade dropped out before reaching graduation. So, the 44% who did not drop out were more likely to have a higher graduation rate than the public schools that accepted the dropouts from the voucher schools.

Why do these so-called “conservatives” want to destroy their own community’s public schools? There is nothing conservative about that.

Funny they don’t mention that vouchers have never been approved in any referendum. Voters don’t want their public dollars to go to religious or unregulated private schools.

That was easy.