School choice triumph: Report card analysis shows voucher schools out-perform public schools

In an opinion piece published today on the website for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, School Choice Wisconsin President Nicholas Kelly highlighted research that showed schools in Wisconsin’s private choice programs delivered exceptional bang for the buck when compared to public schools. The study can be found here.

Excerpts from the op-ed are below, and the full piece can be read here.

School choice triumph: Report card analysis shows voucher schools out-perform public schools

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

August 31, 2023

Education was a big winner of a bipartisan agreement in the recently enacted state budget. Public schools will receive an increase of more than $1 billion. Per pupil spending for Wisconsin’s private school choice programs will grow by $2,000 to $3,000 per student.

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With the substantial new education spending, what’s the bang for the buck? What’s the return to Wisconsin taxpayers from their investments in public schools and the parental choice programs? At School Choice Wisconsin, we wanted to find out. …

The results speak for themselves: DPI data show that the parental choice programs were significantly more cost-effective than public schools:

• The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program was 89 percent more cost-effective than the Milwaukee Public School District.
• The Racine Parental Choice Program was 92 percent more cost-effective than the Racine Unified School District.
• The statewide Wisconsin Parental Choice Program was 42 percent more cost-effective than their public school peers.

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Wisconsin’s programs should continue to be invested in and strengthened in the years to come. Legislators should protect the autonomy that has fostered student success and consider adjusting the funding mechanism to deliver savings to property taxpayers across the state while strengthening the long-term stability of the programs.

 

Read the full piece here.

 

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