A new poll by the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Foundation finds voters overwhelmingly believe there should be equitable funding for public, choice and charter schools.
Wisconsin’s public schools, on average, receive about $15,000 per student from Wisconsin taxpayers, according to School Choice Wisconsin. That’s well north of $5,000 a year more than private school choice and charter schools receive per student.
According to the WMC Foundation poll, 59 percent of respondents said they would support a bill that would narrow the funding gap between public and choice and charter schools. And 56 percent of respondents believe that funding should be equal for public, choice and charter schools alike.
“Tens of thousands of Wisconsin families choose to send their children to choice and charter schools around the state, and every kid should be treated the same when it comes to funding,” said WMC Senior Director of Workforce, Education & Employment Policy Rachel Ver Velde. “Narrowing the funding gap in our education system will ensure our state is supporting all students no matter which school they choose to attend.”
The Education Reform poll, conducted for WMC Foundation by OnMessage Inc. May 9-11, surveyed 700 likely voters statewide — nearly 41 percent who identified as Democrats, 39 percent Republicans, and 12 percent ticket splitters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percent.
Strong bipartisan support for school choice remains a constant. The poll found 70 percent of respondents support the parental choice revolution Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson helped pioneer in the early 1990s. That includes backing from 89 percent of Republicans, 67 percent from Independents, and 53 percent from Democrats. Other polls show lower levels of support, but majority support nonetheless, for state funding for choice and charter schools.
Despite its popularly, Governor Tony Evers has once again proposed an enrollment freeze on the state’s private school voucher programs. The Democrat, who served for a decade as Wisconsin’s public education czar, has long sought to strangle school choice, the wish of the teachers unions that have richly funded his campaigns. Republicans on the GOP-led Joint Finance Committee earlier this spring removed Evers’ school choice proposal along with hundreds of other proposed measures — from the budget plan.
Last year, Evers vetoed a Republican universal school choice bill aimed at ending enrollment and income limits in parental choice programs.
The WMC Foundation poll found 63 percent of respondents favor expanding school choice in Wisconsin, and nearly three-quarters oppose any state Supreme Court move to outlaw the voucher program. Liberals are set to control the court this summer, the first time in more than a decade the left will be in the majority. An analysis earlier year found the change in court leadership could doom the voucher program.
Incoming Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz was backed by the Wisconsin Education Association Council. Peggy Wirtz-Olsen, WEAC’s president, has said “private school vouchers … are bleeding our public schools dry.” She insisted that getting rid of school choice would be a priority for the liberal-led court.
School choice supporters say that would be a huge mistake.
“School choice is becoming more and more popular in Wisconsin,” added Ver Velde. “It is time we have conversations across party lines about expanding educational options for families and ensuring equitable funding follows the student to the school of their choice.”
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Teacher and Students” by Max Fischer.
