SCW’s comments on Governor Evers’ Budget Proposal

Brookfield, WI – The following is a statement from School Choice Wisconsin’s Government Affairs and Public Policy Consultant, Jim Bender on Governor Evers’ budget provision calling for the freezing of enrollment in the Parental Choice Programs:

“There is a clear divide in education in Wisconsin today – not between public and private, but between open and closed. One small, but very influential camp, is utilizing resources to force kids to stay home, the other is working night and day to provide in-person instruction in a safe environment.

Families are desperate. The mental health, academic and economic burdens of school closures are needlessly being prolonged based on political influences, not science. With many public and private schools open in Wisconsin since the fall, the tens of thousands of students in a forced virtual environment are in an unnecessary situation out of their control.

Elected officials, insulated bureaucrats and public unions are all at the table making broad education decisions. Unfortunately, that table has little room for families. For many parents, the opposition to allowing them to make educational decisions for their children has been a wakeup call they will not soon forget. The public and private school leaders, teachers and coaches working tirelessly to accommodate parents will be remembered.

At this time, educational options are more important than ever. We are seeing families go to extraordinary measures to help their kids learn. Governor Evers’ budget proposes freezing enrollment in the highly-successful Parental Choice Programs in the state. In Milwaukee, Madison and elsewhere, the private schools are the only schools providing in-person instruction and the lifelines so many families need.

Locking parents out of the Parental Choice Programs, just as some desire to lock all students out of schools, is not based on the data, science or the best interest of families.”