The sweeping schools plan by Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee would boost spending on public schools instead of cutting it by $127 million over two years as GOP Gov. Scott Walker has proposed.
It would also require the state to come up with education guidelines separate from the Common Core standards and have the state rate schools on a five-star scale — instead of the letter-grade system Walker wanted.
[…]
The statewide voucher program was created two years ago and is limited to 1,000 students. The latest plan would increase the cap to 1% of the student population of each district in the 2016-’17 school year. That percentage would increase annually for 10 years, when the limit would be removed entirely.
That voucher expansion is expected to cost $48 million over two years. That funding would eat into the increase public schools would receive.
Under another voucher expansion, special needs students could attend private schools at taxpayer expense if they have been denied transfer into a public school under the state’s open enrollment program. The schools would receive $12,000 per student each year.
The GOP proposal would also phase out the Chapter 220 school integration program, put the Milwaukee County executive in charge of some low-performing Milwaukee Public Schools, create an alternative system for licensing teachers and require that high school students take the civics test given to those applying for U.S. citizenship.
Overall, this is positive. The voucher expansion isn’t as fast as it should be and leaves the door open for a future legislature to reverse the expansion. Also, the funding for the extra money for public schools is being done with some smoke and mirrors.
10 years?
Did Republican spines fall off?
MPS needs to be completely taken over by state and make those schools, public and private, get funding by competition.
I have no issue with anything that is done to make MPS viable.
I continue to believe that if you want to send your children to a school that teaches your religion , you should pay for it yourself .
I haven’t heard an argument yet that convinced me that it’s anything other than a handout for the devout ( to something or someone )
If it was presented that way , we could put it on the list of all the other handouts right wingers hate and discuss
Which get funded .
You know , I get more federal aid for poor kids , retiree’s continue to have no means testing for Social Security
And my tax dollars go to fund Church Schools that teach that what they believe is morally superior to other schools . ( I went to 12 years of Cathoic schools so I know the drill )
Handouts all – but properly defined as such .
You think it’s better , pay for it .
The voucher program is nothing more then mass indoctrination geared toward producing future generations of religious right leaning bible blinded voters at our expense. Nationwide 99% of “vouchers” were used to attend Cristian based private schools. If people want to send there kids to tax exempt private schools they should privately fund it. The tune will change once it opens up fairly and vouchers are being used to fund Muslim schools or atheist schools.Those who think our public school system is broken should take a good look around. The majority of our leaders, our coworkers, our fellow church members, our doctors etc. etc. etc. are products of public schooling. Look at your local school is it broken or does your community take great pride in going to the Friday night high school football game or watching the high school marching band perform on Main Street during the a Fourth of July parade. Our public school system is as American as apple pie or baseball. We shouldn’t be abandoning it. We should understand the bigger issues facing those that are in trouble and find solutions. Vouchers will only leave more children behind in the long run for there are few options for private schools in rural and inner city locations. This will turn into the same type of educational debacle as did the day care scandals in Milwaukee. Every Tom, Dick and Sally will attempt to profit from the free money handouts and the corruption will soon follow.
Interesting that neither of you talk about the mass liberal indoctrination in public school—-which lately even includes viewing the American flag as a hate symbol among the elite educators–so called.
You talk to people as if they haven’t attended public school or they aren’t involved in there children’s public education. My education was mostly public (2 years private) including public university and didn’t include any political indoctrination. My teachers were professionals and taught the subjects they were trained to teach. All of my children, from kindergarten to college, have the same type of professionally trained educators and my oldest is currently in an education program at a public university. None of them tell me of any indoctrination nor have I witnessed or picked up on any indoctrination. So I conclude liberal indoctrination in public schools is just more rhetoric aimed at scaring weak minded conservatives into supporting the voucher system. As far as the American flag being viewed as a hate symbol (if you believe that BS)… Aren’t Americans allowed to express their opinions about how they view the flag or should their free speech rights be suppressed.
Mark, Jade,
You guys crack me up. You will defend the “diversity” of the biggest radicals of the liberal religion that views the American flag as a hate symobol and the USA as evil, and say its fine for them to be steering public education curriculum.
However, you reject the grace and love preached in Christianity from being mentioned, or being a part of the curriculum.
That, right there, is why we need school choice.
True “diversity” allows choice, not forces choice into a one size fits all box.
Kevin,
Curriculum in schools consists of reading, writing, arithmetic, history, science etc.etc.etc. My reasoning behind keeping religion out of public schools and not funding private schools with vouchers is for similar reasons you argue against the Muslim religion. If we allow Christianity to become part of the curriculum before long someone will whine about including their religion and I don’t want my children exposed to/indoctrinated by a religion outside of my own. Nor do I want to end up funding (my tax dollars) a religious school promoting some religion outside of my own. As a parent I will choose how, when, where and what religion my children are exposed to and I certainly don’t want the government (schools) in control of that. Everyone has a right to practice their own religion in this country but religion isn’t a public institution it’s private. Let’s keep it that way. Be careful what you wish for or before long your tax dollars will be funding the K-12 program at the local mosque. Try to think outside the box and be careful what you ask for.
Jade,
…but you still want to fund the current public school religion?
Secular humanism is the current public school religion, and it has dire consequences in decision making (indoctrination) for our kids.
You deny the public school religion exists. I’m not saying get rid of the secular humanist school, just fund the other schools equally with vouchers for those that find secular humanism reprehensible, and all schools compete.
Religion exists in the public school, no matter how much you deny it.
“Diversity” dictates people shuld have more than one choice.
…unless you are against diversity, which liberals would say is intolerant.
You are the only person wrongly defining public schooling as a religion. The more you make up these crazy ideas about our society, government and the conspiracy issues surrounding them the more I question your public education. Do you not support your local public school district? Are the graduates from your local school district in “dire consequences” and incapable of being successful in life? You should give this years commencement speech and let your community know how you feel about the system, the teachers and administration that are indoctrinating their children. If your comfortable funding the k-12 program at the local mosque you go right ahead. I will continue to supervise my children’s public education and make sure crazies like you don’t have the ability to force their ideology into my kids brains (as I do now). Wrong again!
I did not say public schooling was a religion.
I said the SECULAR HUMANISM in the public school curriculum is a religion.
When you have an elementary school supporting “dress down” days for kindergarteners for transgender issues, that is a religion.
The flag is a symbol.
No one is taught to hate it in a public schools . Making that argument is just dopey .
The idea of treating others with love and respect is not a uniquely Christian message , it is a universal not particularly religious message
Most of the parents applying for the vouchers already are sending those kids to private schools
There is no long line of poor black city kids at KML or other fine private suburban Christian schools that will now be getting voucher help , just parents who want to feed at the public trough .
And I bet some of them are hard working 2 income families who never talked about “Takers ” or “Moochers ”
Or other names Conservatives give to anyone not as self motivated and super swell as they are
I get it . My folks has no money so all my brothers and sisters paid their way through private HS
If we could do it , so can the keepers of the conservative and religious flame
Kevin,
Introducing Christianity in public schools gives Muslims (or atheists) the opening to introduce their religion into public schools. Classes will get interrupted several times a day to accommodate Muslim prayer and our children will be exposed to a religion you yourself said teaches violence and is a false religion. It also opens the door for Muslims to apply for vouchers that will be used to support their mosques. Not on my dime!
I agree not on my dime.
So let’s strip the liberal religions out of public schools too, starting with evolution and global warming.
We can then move on to kicking out the holy grail of liberal religion: diversity training. That is the religion that fervently practices the belief that no one should ever have to be offended by anything. There is dire consequences to this absurd religious view.
I know Marquette Professor McAdams knows what the liberal diversity hammer is in the super intolerant liberal religious lexicon.
Liberals want to evict religion from public schools? Let’s start with favored liberal religions. It’s only fair.
Kevin,
Only in your head are evaluation, global warming and diversity a religion. To evict these fictitious religions from public schools they would have to exist in the first place and that’s not the case. I’m not sure what happened to you but by chance were you an alter boy and if so did your priest happen to be a liberal. This hatred can’t be healthy. Like I said be careful what you ask for or you will end up supporting the k-12 program at the local mosque and there will be multiple prayer hours to interrupt already stressed for time public school days.
Jade,
I find you to be a passionate disciple for global warming religion.
Is that a compliment? or politically incorrect to say that?
You know how I miss those political correctness meetings….
Kevin,
I will leave being a “disciple” to the Apostles. If you’d like to continue the global warming discussion we should do so on that thread. However, I will say the your views on the subject are now a minority position within the general population of this country and the world (even among conservatives and libertarians). Education is the subject on this thread and I will gladly continue to point out your confusion on the subject if you so desire.