Emails: Racine’s Mayor Mason And Teachers Union Worked Together On School Choice ‘Misinformation’ Campaign

This is pretty outlandish.

MADISON, Wis. — Racine Mayor Cory Mason and city officials coordinated with the school district and the local teachers union on what critics say is a misinformation campaign about the Racine Parental Choice Program, according to internal emails obtained by the MacIver Institute.

The communications expose how integrally involved in the campaign Racine Educators United was, calling meetings with city officials and calling some of the shots on the information literature.

A Racine Unified School District official, when told of the communications, said she was “unaware of the intricacies of the back and forth” communications involved.

In its latest round of property tax bills to homeowners, the city of Racine included an insert claiming that one-fifth of Racine’s property tax levy goes to private voucher schools in the school district. The point of the insert: Let Racine property taxpayers know just how much money the school choice program is siphoning from the public education system.

Except, the accusation is spurious.

The message is, at best, misleading, dismissing some important facts, as Ola Lisowski reported in a MacIver Institute analysis on Tuesday. In fact, the actual property tax levy for parental choice private schools is 5 percent, when calculating the millions of dollars more the district receives in general school aids — thanks to the school choice program. By law, the state must hold traditional public schools harmless from the financial impacts of students leaving their systems and moving into choice schools.

continue at MacIver Institute

Also:  The City of Racine Lied About School Choice

WILL sues Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction over illegal treatment of private schools in Wisconsin’s choice programs

The Breaking News: Today WILL attorneys, on behalf of School Choice Wisconsin Action, sued State Superintendent of Public Instruction Carolyn Stanford Taylor and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), the state ed agency, for their unfair, illegal treatment of private schools in Wisconsin’s choice programs. DPI is denying private choice schools the opportunity to fully utilize online, virtual learning as part of classroom instruction. The lawsuit can be found here.

continue at Wisconsin Institute of Law & Liberty

Data Release: School Choice Students Outperform Peers on ACT

A new data release from Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction shows that 42.4 percent of 3rd to 8th grade students are proficient in English language arts, and 43.8 percent are proficient in math.

Students improved in math by one percentage point over last year, when 42.8 percent were proficient. At the same time, they fared worse in English language arts. Last year, 44.4 percent of students were proficient on the same exam.

Students showed slight improvement in science, with 49.9 percent of students demonstrating proficiency. That’s up a hair from 49.7 percent last year. They also improved on social studies — 50.6 percent of students are proficient in the subject, up a full percentage point from last year’s result.

continue at MacIver Institute

Cardinal Cupich praises private school tax credits in IL school funding bill

MUNDELEIN, Ill. (WLS) --  As Governor Bruce Rauner toured downstate schools Wednesday, he touted compromise school funding legislation that includes tuition tax credits to help lower income families send their kids to private schools.

That portion of the bill got passed with the help of Cardinal Blase Cupich, who said he is grateful for lawmakers' work.

Cardinal Cupich celebrated Mass and then dedicated the new Mary of Mt. Carmel garden at Carmel High School in Mundelein Wednesday. But he was also celebrating the new education funding bill that could end up helping the Archdiocese, which has had to close many schools in recent years.

"I think it will have an impact, a positive impact, but of course there are schools of other denominations, there are Jewish schools, there are other private schools as well, and this is about families and about children," he said.

The $75 million tuition tax credit program would be funded by private donations and is expected to provide scholarships to about 6,000 students around the state.

continue at ABC 

The governor vetoed the original legislation, calling it a bailout of Chicago Public Schools, which he has long criticized as financially mismanaged. Lawmakers largely ignored Rauner’s veto, which included amendments to the bill. Instead, they focused on securing a union-opposed, $75 million private scholarship fund — a pilot for five years — as part of the deal. Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, lobbied heavily for the private program, which would allow individuals and corporations to earn tax credits for donating to a scholarship fund that benefits eligible families who send their children to private schools.

Politico

Cardinal Cupich emails to Mayor Rahm Emanuel supporting private school vouchers not subject to fines

Last week, the latest batch of emails released by City Hall showed Emanuel warning at least two powerful people about the line they were about to cross.

But after reading those emails closely Conlon said he does not believe that any of them warrant investigation.

They included: a real estate magnate seeking a curb cut to accommodate the church he was renovating into a private home; a longtime mayoral friend seeking an entree for a neighbor who owned a renewable energy firm interested in retrofitting city buildings and Cardinal Blase Cupich, who wanted to discuss his support for private school vouchers.

On Wednesday, Conlon argued that Cupich “speaks for a non-profit,” and is, therefore exempt from lobbying requirements. So is Gary E.W. Rossi, director of real estate for the Marmon Group LLC, who was renovating a Cabrini Green church “for his own benefit.”

Chicago Sun Times: Lobbyist registrations surge after fines tied to Emanuel emails

WILL makes the case for School Choice in rural Wisconsin

HT V

JS: Tensions rise as vouchers pick up traction across Wisconsin

I have to fix the quotation css styles here so bear with me: 

For the first time, the Chilton School District could face either an enrollment drop because children will use a voucher to attend the local Catholic school they couldn't otherwise afford, or more likely, the district will have to raise taxes to fund vouchers for children who already attend the private school.

...

Liz Rollmann has been principal of Chilton Area Catholic School for more than a decade, during which student enrollment dropped from 140 to just 83 students.

"There is great support for Catholic education here," said Rollmann. "The problem is, a lot of families can't afford it."

When the priest of Good Shepherd Catholic Church announced in January that the school would join the voucher program this fall, parishioners applauded.

full article at JS

Cough...

I'm not sure the article is completely fair, the family gets a tax rebate, there isn't direct funding from the state.

Study: Vouchers kept Milwaukee Catholic parishes open, but at a cost to religious activity

The expansion of private-school vouchers in Milwaukee prevented Catholic parishes from closing and merging, but also led to a significant decline in participating churches' donations and religious activity, a new study says.

The study suggests the Milwaukee voucher program since 1999 led to a decline in non-school Catholic church revenue by $60 million, at least amid the more than 70 Milwaukee Archdiocese parishes studied by the authors. The findings raise new questions about the impact that expanding private-school voucher programs could have on religious life in America, at a time when voucher programs are expanding and the number of people claiming religious affiliation is declining.

"It's a complicated story, because vouchers are good in terms of keeping parishes open, but they seem to be changing what happens within the parishes," said Daniel Hungerman, an associate professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame who led the study released Monday. The National Bureau of Economic Research is circulating it as a working paper.

continue at JS

Go read the rest.  Important food for thought.

Is this really a voucher problem though, and not just the general attrition of Catholicism in the US?

Siphoning Money? Milwaukee's Parental School Choice Program will save public schools $500,000,000

Establishment folks in public education have done their best to make charter schools and other parental choice programs look like the Devil. Their story about how such programs drain money from public schools now seems as much a part of American folklore as Pecos Bill or Paul Bunyan. How many times did you see the words “siphoning money” in print in the weeks prior to Betsy DeVos’s confirmation?

But there’s a difference between propaganda and reasoned discourse. The truth is that traditional public schools do not need and should not claim public funds that would have come to kids who no longer sit in their classrooms. When they take advantage of new policy opportunities, including the funds they provide, private and charter schools are cheating no one. They are innovators who are fulfilling our nation’s promise to educate its children.
...
A recent study from my home state of Wisconsin suggests that, far from swindling taxpayers, Milwaukee's Parental Choice Program (“MPCP”) will save them half a billion dollars in the long term.

As someone who lives in Milwaukee, I know what happened with St. Marcus School Lutheran School. St. Marcus is urban, and close to 100 percent of its kids are poor. But 90 percent of students at St. Marcus graduate.

continue at EdExcellence

Really, go finish the story.  Well worth the read.

HT Catholic Vote

Wisconsin school choice advocates cheer DeVos confirmation, liberals jeer

WAUKESHA, Wis. – When Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote Tuesday to approve the appointment of Betsy DeVos as the nation’s education secretary, school choice supporters in Wisconsin cheered the news while opponents said they would keep watch on DeVos.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in a statement said he was pleased to support President Donald Trump’s controversial nominee in Tuesday’s historic vote.

“No child, regardless of background or ZIP code, should be denied the opportunity to receive a first-rate education,” the Oshkosh Republican said. “I appreciate Ms. DeVos’ commitment to providing families with options for their children’s education…”

At the time of her nomination, DeVos was chairman of the American Federation for Children, a national school choice advocacy group, and a philanthropist who had been active in the school choice and charter school movements. Already targeted by teachers unions afraid of her support for education reform, a rocky confirmation hearing gave Democrats hope of blocking her confirmation. But only two Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine, voted against DeVos. With the vote evenly split 50-50, Pence cast the deciding vote in her favor.

continue at Wisconsin Watchdog

Which begs the question, who is running against Tammy Baldwin in 2018?  I'm rooting for Sean Duffy.

JS New MKE Seton Catholic School system bolsters voucher schools

Turner is in his second year at St. Catherine, one of nine schools in the inaugural class of Seton Catholic Schools, a nonprofit the Archdiocese of Milwaukee launched to boost enrollment and improve educational outcomes at its elementary schools that take part in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, which offers taxpayer-funded vouchers for low- and middle-income students to attend private schools.

Adopting more innovative teaching practices is just one of many priorities Turner has set for St. Catherine — up there with raising test scores, expanding extracurricular activities, and creating a culture where students and families feel welcome.

"I have a lot of 'number one priorities,' " said Turner, who spent 15 years as a Milwaukee Public Schools teacher before joining St. Catherine in July 2015. "We're a work in progress. But we're making progress."

article as JS 

Worth the read.  Also:

Catholic school enrollments peaked in the 1960s, when more than 15 million students were educated in 13,000 schools across the country, staffed primarily by religious sisters who offered a plentiful source of low-cost labor, according to the National Catholic Education Association. The movement of sisters into other ministries dramatically altered the economic picture for Catholic schools. And enrollments declined over the decades driven by a host of reasons, including rising tuition costs and a lessening of the moral obligation for Catholics to send their children to religious schools.

By 2015-16, there were just 6,525 Catholic schools, serving about 1.9 million students nationally. Enrollment in the Milwaukee Archdiocese is 30,772 this year, down from 33,559 in 2007-08, according to Kathleen Cepelka, who serves as superintendent for its 92 elementary and 15 high schools across the 10-county area.

JS: Catholic schools pressure MPS for bus money

Two Catholic schools are pressuring Milwaukee Public Schools to fund more of their transportation costs, raising new questions about the extent to which districts must provide busing to private-school students under state law.

Messmer Catholic Schools leaders are asking the MPS administration to change the way it treats the network under that law, which calls for districts to bus local private-school students under certain circumstances. Messmer leaders say the change would bring it approximately $40,000 in additional busing funds this year for elementary students.

St. Joan Antida High School is going a step further and threatening a lawsuit if MPS doesn't treat it like a public, citywide high school — and pay for busing for 70 of its girls. That costs $108,000 currently, according to St. Joan Antida leaders.

Both cases are being watched by other private schools, especially those looking for ways to maximize available public funding streams.

continue at JS

WisWatchdog: Can a school district decide how Catholic a school is?

St. Augustine School, Hartford, WI

A private school in Richfield, Wisconsin, and the parents of three students are taking Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Tony Evers and the Friess Lake School District to court over the question of who gets to decide if the school is Catholic or not.

The lawsuit, filed April 8 in Waukesha County Circuit Court by attorneys with the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, alleges violations of the Free Exercise Clause and Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.

...

St. Augustine is an independent school that, while it teaches Catholic doctrine, is incorporated separately from the archdiocese and has its own board of directors and bylaws. It is not part of the Catholic school system.

continue at Wisconsin Watchdog

Yep, go read.  This affect us all.

FYI, This is Virginia's school.... remember her?

Eligibility requirements for who can apply for Wis school vouchers are changing

The Aquinas Catholic School System in the La Crosse area became one of the first 25 schools or school systems in Wisconsin to take part in the Parental Choice Program when it began in 2013.

Aquinas is one of the seven catholic school systems Reichenbacher oversees.

“We have 66 schools in the Diocese of La Crosse,” said Reichenbacher.

Thirty-two of those schools take part in the state's School Choice Program. The majority of the students at those faith-based schools who received a voucher used the money to stay at their current school.

“That's pretty much across the board, roughly 80 percent, give or take an area, but the students were already attending the Catholic Schools,” said Reichenbacher.

Starting next year, students already enrolled in a private school can only receive a voucher if they're entering kindergarten, first or ninth grade in the current year. This is called ‘grade break.’

continue at WKBT8

Yes, after the Germans ease up, I'll get back to daily postings.

One think though, 66 Catholic schools in D.Lax?  I count 35 but maybe I'm missing something.

Op-ed: Catholics need to lead on school choice

This week is National Catholic Schools Week. A week that the National Catholic Educational Association calls the “annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States.” This week is also National School Choice Week. It exists “to raise public awareness of all types of education options for children.”

It’s no accident that these two weeks coincide.

In the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, nearly 38% of the children in archdiocesan Catholic schools are able to attend because of school choice. So in Wisconsin, as in much of the country, there is a direct correlation between education reform initiatives and the operational capacity of Catholic schools. As a fundraising consultant I know tells his clients, “No margin, no mission.”

Because of this, Catholics have a responsibility to zealously support and advocate for school choice initiatives that help Catholic schools do what they have done well for generations: provide a high-quality, faith-based education.

The Second Vatican Council explained that, “The public power, which has the obligation to protect and defend the rights of citizens, must see to it, in its concern for distributive justice, that public subsidies are paid out in such a way that parents are truly free to choose according to their conscience the schools they want for their children.”

continue at JS

It's very good, read the rest. Some interesting statistics.

Jason S. Crye on Twitter

JS: Leader of high-profile St. Anthony School stepping onto bigger stage

Zeus Rodriguez (second from right) met with Sen. Rand Paul, now a Republican candidate for president, during his visit to St. Anthony School in 2014. 

When Zeus Rodriguez was hired four years ago as president of Milwaukee's St. Anthony School, the country's largest K-12 Catholic school system [wow, I had no idea!], he hadn't ever worked in education.

But he had a vision, and verve. And he had experience building things: a medical staffing service, an Internet branding company, a nonprofit to educate Latinos about their educational options, including using taxpayer-funded subsidies to attend private, religious schools, such as St. Anthony.

He expanded the school's reach. And now he's expanding his own.

Rodriguez resigned from St. Anthony on April 1. He plans to expand his nonprofit, Hispanics for School Choice, by opening a second office in Houston. The move comes as the Texas Legislature is considering legislation that could bring in some form of a voucher program.

continue at JS

Dems attack Wisconsin School Choice, Milwaukee voucher program

As Republicans consider plans for expanding access to taxpayer-funded, private-school tuition vouchers this year in Wisconsin and other states, a federal lawmaker is calling for a review of the long-standing Milwaukee voucher program.

U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) has asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office to scrutinize the impact and outcomes of Milwaukee's voucher schools compared with Milwaukee Public Schools in areas such as academic achievement, special-education services and accountability practices.

In a December letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, Pocan indicated a study is appropriate now because voucher and tax-credit scholarship programs have proliferated across the country since 2001, and the Milwaukee voucher program — in place since 1990 — offers years of new data to be examined.

"We'd like to know what the strengths and weaknesses of the program are," Pocan said in an interview."  As other states look at expanding (voucher) programs, it makes sense to have an objective study by a respected, nonpartisan agency."

U.S. Reps. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin and Dave Loebsack of Iowa — both Democrats — signed the letter as well.

continue at JS (a good article)

I think this is absolutely bizarre.  Gwen Moore honestly thinks shutting down the Milwaukee voucher program is a good idea.  Yeah, yeah, it's a "nonpartisan  study," I'm suuuuuuure it is.

National School Choice Week

NATIONAL SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK

January 26 – February 1, 2014

“Wisconsin is very fortunate to have numerous school choice opportunities for parents.  Wisconsin Family Council has proudly supported school choice for years and we encourage parents to take advantage of these options. However, no matter what educational partner parents choose, the education of their children is still fundamentally their responsibility.” –Wisconsin Family Action president Julaine Appling
Click HERE for a summary of school choice options in Wisconsin.
“School Choice Week” will feature 130 events throughout the Badger State.

• Roundtable discussion.
• School fairs.
• Open Houses.
• Rallies.
• Community meetings.
• Documentary screenings.

Click HERE for more information on what’s happening in YOUR neighborhood during School Choice Week!

via Wisconsin Family Action 

It also happens to be Catholic Schools Week 

Wisconsin’s statewide school voucher program kicks off

It’s go time for the statewide expansion of school choice in Wisconsin.

After attending the required trainings, filling out paperwork and sending in fees to the state Department of Public Instruction, administrators in 48 private schools will try to attract as many applicants as possible for the opportunity to take part in the first year of the newly expanded voucher program.

“We’re very excited to be part of the program,” said Karen Konop, director of admissions at Notre Dame de la Baie Academy, a Catholic high school with about 750 students in Green Bay. “We really don’t know what to expect for how many of our current students or new students will apply (for vouchers).”

Many of the schools vying to become part of the school choice program will extend hours during the next week for those seeking voucher applications.

Between Thursday and Aug. 9, parents and guardians across the state may apply online for the opportunity to enroll their child in a voucher program. Applicants will need to verify income and residency to be accepted.

continue at Wisconsin Reporter

Good summary, worth the read.  Wish we had it in La Crosse. 

Another interesting note: Superior Catholic schools opt out of voucher program

Wiggy: School choice plan doesn’t go far enough

School choice plan doesn’t go far enough
Parents, students deserve more options statewide

Waukesha Freeman 7/11/13 Page A6 Opinion

I won’t pretend that I’m happy with the final compromise in the state budget regarding the expansion of private school choice, commonly referred to as vouchers.

When other states are moving forward boldly in expanding private school choice opportunities, the state where school choice began is now falling behind.

Five hundred students statewide the first year is a drop in the bucket. Gov. Scott Walker’s plan was not much better, but at least it targeted districts with failing schools and offered more students and parents private school choice.

However, the compromise does show the hypocrisy of school choice critics. State Sen. Mike Ellis had two main complaints about the governor’s plan. He said he wanted “local control” with school districts deciding whether to participate in school choice. He also said it would be unfair in school districts to have a lottery to determine who could go to private schools.

Guess what? We have a lottery, and it’s statewide. So much for local control.

Now that it is statewide, school choice opponents are nervous that the enrollment caps will be removed by a future session of the Legislature. We can only hope.

continue at Wiggy Lib&Pub