By Steve Gunn
EAGnews.org
    
MADISON, Wis.  – School choice advocates from Wisconsin and across the nation heard what they wanted to hear from Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Wednesday night.
    
He used part of his biannual state budget address to the legislature to announce plans to dramatically expand the state’s successful parental choice program, which is currently limited to Milwaukee and Racine. 
     
The expansion plan would require approval of the legislature, where opponents from both parties have expressed doubts about the idea in recent weeks. Despite threats from the naysayers, Walker sounded determined to do what’s right for children who aren’t getting what they need from traditional public schools.
    
“In the end, our goal is simple: ensure every child – regardless of where they are from or what their family income is – has access to a great education,” Walker boldly announced to lawmakers.
    
The parental choice program is designed to allow lower-income K-12 students stuck in failing public schools to receive state vouchers to attend private or parochial schools. More than 24,000 students are currently enrolled in the Milwaukee voucher program, which is the oldest of its kind in the nation. Another 500 utilize the second-year Racine voucher program.
    
Under the governor’s plan, any school district in the state with at least 4,000 students and at least two failing school buildings would be eligible. At least 20 students in each eligible district would have to express interest for the program to be installed. 
    
Besides Milwaukee and Racine, nine districts across the state currently meet those criteria – Madison, Beloit, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Kenosha, Sheboygan, Superior, Waukesha and West Allis-West Milwaukee.
    
The expansion would be capped at 500 students statewide in fiscal 2014 and 1,000 students the following year. There would be no cap after that, and more districts could be added to the program under the newly established criteria listed above.
    
‘Our children can’t afford to wait’
    
Walker began the education section of his budget address by saluting a long list of outstanding traditional public schools. 
    
But he made it clear that traditional schools will have to share the stage – and state dollars – with a growing number of private schools that will receive state-funded vouchers. 
    
“For communities where some schools fail to meet expectations, we include an expansion of the parental choice program in this budget,” Walker told the legislature and other assembled guests. “Since wealthy families have a choice because they can pay to send their children to a private school, we give low-income and middle-class families an opportunity to also choose a viable alternative for their sons and daughters.
    
“Interestingly, some communities have both high-performing schools, as well as some that fail to meet expectations. Green Bay is a good example. Keller Elementary in Green Bay is a school where more than 70 percent of students are economically disadvantaged, yet Keller Elementary exceeds expectations.
     
“In this budget, schools like this will be eligible for a performance reward. At the same time, in that same district, there are other schools that fail to meet expectations. Other districts like Madison, Beloit, Sheboygan and West Allis-West Milwaukee have similar situations.
    
“While we work to improve underperforming schools, our children can’t afford to wait. This is why we provide new choices for parents in areas where schools are failing to meet expectations.”
    
Walker singled out two Milwaukee voucher schools – Notre Dame and St. Marcus Lutheran – for praise.
    
“At Notre Dame, an all-girls middle school on Milwaukee’s south side, college is the goal,” Walker said. “Ninety-eight percent of the middle school graduates complete high school and 82 percent go on to college. St. Marcus Lutheran School serves nearly 700 students on Milwaukee’s north side. The results show both schools do at least 50 percent better than Milwaukee Public Schools in reading and math.”
    
Vocal opposition
    
Walker could have trouble getting the voucher plan through the state Senate, even though it’s controlled by his fellow Republicans by an 18-15 margin.
    
Two key GOP senators – Senate President Mike Ellis and Senate Education Committee Chairman Luther Olsen, have expressed reservations in recent weeks about the voucher expansion plan. 
    
They would like to make voucher availability a community proposition, with voters in each school district having the final say. That’s a preposterous idea because education is, by its nature, an individual concept, and different types of schools fit the needs of different types of kids.
    
If only one child in an entire school district wants a state-sponsored private school voucher, he or she should receive it, whether the majority of voters in the school district approve or not. The loss of state funds for one student, or even a handful of students, is not going to cripple a public school budget. And if more than a handful want to leave, that should send a message to the people who run that public school.
    
Evans and Olsen are also concerned about allowing any student from a qualifying district to attend a voucher school, rather than just students from the two (or more) failing schools in the district.
    
Walker has indicated a willingness to “work with” the senators on that point. 
    
Teachers union officials were also predictably skeptical of the voucher expansion plan.
    
Mary Bell, president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, accused Walker of trying to “privatize” public education.
    
“The governor’s priorities don’t lie with what’s best for students, and instead focus on supporting special interests,” Bell told the Beloit Daily News.
    
What an ironic statement for the leader of the state’s most politically-active special interest.
    
The voucher program exists for the sole purpose of benefitting students, particularly those who are stuck in miserable schools or school districts. If the governor’s goal was to simply shift all education to private schools, he would attempt  to spread the voucher program to every corner of the state.
    
Instead he is limiting the program to districts with at least two failing schools. Does Bell really believe students in sub-par districts or schools should be forced to stay there?  And if so, why?
    
The truth is that Bell is the one fighting on behalf of a special interest.
    
She wants to make sure that a maximum number of students remain enrolled in public schools, regardless of the quality of education they receive. High enrollment in public schools creates a demand for more teachers, which means more teachers would become union members. The more union members paying dues, the more money Bell’s organization makes.
    
The people of Wisconsin aren’t stupid. Her union’s self-serving motivations are obvious to everyone.
    
Walker has survived a lot of criticism and many political attacks since he started pushing for better schools and better use of school dollars two years ago.
    
He’s survived every challenge and managed to implement his aggressive agenda thus far. Education reformers are betting he will find a way to expand the voucher program and kids throughout the state will benefit.