Opponents of parental choice use myths and distortions about religious and independent schools to discredit private K-12 education.
WCRIS members and our boosters can use these false claims and arguments as an opportunity to educate the community on facts about Wisconsin’s K-12 private schools.
WCRIS Executive Director Sharon Schmeling’s op-ed, “Wisconsin’s School Wars Don’t Work,” was featured in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (MJS), the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, the La Crosse Tribune and the Chippewa Herald. It uses some of the facts below to explain private schools in Wisconsin. You can find the MJS article online here.
The following are facts about private schools that you can use to start a conversation about what our schools contribute to Wisconsin’s educational infrastructure and to refute negative commentary:
- Wisconsin’s private schools are covered by hundreds of state and federal laws. Schools participating in the voucher program have even more to follow. And, all private schools are subject to parent approval. If parents don’t choose the schools, they lack sufficient enrollment to stay open.
- Private schools aim to educate children in accordance to its beliefs or values, not to make money or replace public schools. Additionally, private schools are often one of the biggest employers in town, employing close to 10,000 individuals in the state.
- Private schools save taxpayers money. If there were no private schools, Wisconsin state and local taxes would have to increase more than $1 billion annually [1] to pay for the over 121,000 private school students’ education in public schools. [2]
- Most private school students are K-8 and go on to attend public high schools. For that reason, private schools have long-supported a robust public education system and work closely with public schools to help students transition from one to the other.
- Only low-income families can use three out of the four state voucher programs. There are 29,003 students in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program; 4,038 students in the Racine Parental Choice Program; and 19,205 students in the statewide Wisconsin Parental Choice Program. There is not an income limit for families using the state’s Special Needs Scholarship Program, which only serves students with exceptional academic needs. There are 2,703 students in this program. [3]
- Public school choice, known as “open enrollment,” is the state’s oldest and largest parental choice program. This program allows students of any income level to attend any public school of their choice. There are over 70,000 students who use this program. [4]
- School vouchers save the state money. Despite the claims of extensive cost to property taxpayers, the three voucher programs result in savings for the state of Wisconsin. This is because students in the voucher program, unfortunately, are funded at a lower level than students in traditional public schools. Vouchers currently provide $9,893 for K-8 students and $12,387 for high school students.[5] Public schools spend an average of $15,329 per student. [6]
- Students in the state’s voucher programs outperform traditional public-school students. This is especially true in Catholic schools. Their participation in national studies demonstrated that Catholic-school students are performing one-to-two grade levels higher than their public-school peers. [7] Studies have also shown that voucher schools feature higher scores on state exams, higher graduation rates and more college entrants.
- The voucher programs are Constitutional. Both the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court agreed long-ago that the choice programs meet the state’s secular interest in education. If a voucher is used to attend a religious school, it’s because of a parental decision. The government does not select the school.
You can use these facts by:
- Picking just one or two of the facts above and writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. You can also invite private school boosters who are leaders in the community to do the same.
- Posting the facts on your school’s website or other social media.
- Sharing the facts with your school’s parents so they are equipped to deal with commentary about private schools “hurting public education” during local education campaigns for school referendum and by folks running for office.
Working together, we can educate the public about the contributions and benefits of private schools.
[1] WisTax/Wisconsin Policy Forum Analysis
[2] Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), Private School Enrollment Comparison, 2021-22
[3] DPI, Private School Choice Programs & Special Needs Scholarship Program Summary, October 2022
[4] DPI, Public School Open Enrollment by the Numbers
[5] DPI, Choice Program Payments – FAQ #1
[6] DPI, 2020-21 School District Annual Report Data – Comparative Cost Data
[7] National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Report Card, Oct. 24, 2022
Last updated: March 2024
