A school board in Wisconsin has passed a resolution calling on the governor and the legislature to make publicly available the fiscal impact of vouchers on public schools.
“The School District of Rhinelander Board of Education voted to take a stand in favor of greater transparency when it comes to Wisconsin’s school voucher system and its impact on public schools. By an 8-to-1 vote, the board approved a resolution that asks the governor and state legislators to support the Wisconsin Voucher Taxpayer Transparency Bill “in an effort to be open, honest and transparent with the taxpayers of the School District of Rhinelander and the state of Wisconsin.”
“The 2017-19 state budget includes expansion of the school voucher program, called Parental Choice, statewide. The school board’s Employee Relations Committee (ERC), which met prior to the full board Monday, heard a presentation by Wisconsin Education Association Council senior researcher Jeff Leverich, who said the school board resolution is one strategy to build public awareness of voucher programs’ long-term effects on public education.
“It’s the public’s right to know what’s going on with their tax dollars in their community,” Leverich said. “What do vouchers do? (They take) your community tax dollars and turn it into a mechanism that can go to the private sector.”
“To illustrate his point, Leverich distributed a graph which depicts the amount of state aid Rhinelander received in 2016-17. It shows $1,553 per public school pupil (not including local property tax support), versus $7,969 in state aid per private high school voucher elsewhere in the state. Committee member and board vice president Judy Conlin said she favors a Wisconsin Association of School Board proposal that would require property tax bills to include how much of their local dollars are going to voucher schools.
“We may not currently have any voucher schools in our district, yet — but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t having an impact on our revenues that are available to us,” Conlin said, adding, “I really feel it’s important that our taxpayers understand that we are impacted … our state aid is reduced because of the voucher program.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I hope others join in this effort. A groundswell within the state and across the nation.
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What an excellent idea; however, any chance the bill will pass in the gerrymandered Wisconsin state legislature? Slim to none. Keep fighting, Rhinelander! Be as fierce as your legendary Hodag!
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Taxpayers and/or public schools should have the right to know where the money is going. Too many districts are struggling from charter drain, and too few states provide any level of accountability. Lots of charters are squandering public funds on cyber charters and other reckless and wasteful practices, and school boards and taxpayers should have a right to know how money is being spent.
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Has anyone noticed that the same people who rant about tax cuts and property tax caps are the same ones pushing for “choice” in education. The same dudes and dudettes who scream for (property) tax relief want to also raid the remaining public education dollars to fund private choice programs. all with little or no accountability. I second Laura Chapman’s hope that others within Wisconsin and across the nation will echo Rhinelander’s call for transparency.
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Under Obama the GOP screamed about a balanced budget, and Cruz even shut down the government. Now that they are in power, there’s not word about balanced as their “tax plan” will create a gigantic deficit. Any other bills they try pass require “close” reading as they intend to inflict more privatization on us, and it will be buried in other legislation.
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“Any other bills they try pass require “close” reading as they intend to inflict more privatization on us, and it will be buried in other legislation.”
Most likely in 500+ pages.
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Every expenditure by any government (with the sole exception of national security, intelligence, etc) should be totally transparent, and available for the public to see. This was the justification behind the (federal) Freedom of Information act). The same standard should be applied to state expenditures, and institutions receiving state financing. A no-brainer.
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Why should national security, intelligence, etc. . . be exempt?
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It should be self-evident. Expenditures for intelligence gathering, signal intercept, and highly classified military and intelligence activities, must be tightly controlled, and kept highly secret.
Disclosing expenditures for the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office,etc must be withheld from adversaries and potential adversaries.
These expenditures are withheld from the public, for obvious security reasons. Methods of intelligence collection, and the costs for these, are “hidden” in other budget items, to prevent disclosure.
Get Real. The activities of our national security apparatus, are not the same as the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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Get Real = Eat s#!+ and die, eh.
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Your equation is wrong. All citizens need to understand, that although our budgetary process should be as transparent as possible, certain budgetary items must be shielded from disclosure.
I have worked in the National Security sector for many years. (I am currently at the Pentagon, on very unclassified and routine duties). Our intelligence expenditures include many sensitive and highly classified activities, and disclosing these activities, and the costs incurred in them, would be seriously injurious to our national security. In fact, if some of these activities were disclosed, it could lead to war. Also, many individuals who are involved in these activities would be killed, if the activities were disclosed.
Try to understand, this.
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About time.
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“…$1,553 per public school pupil (not including local property tax support), versus $7,969 in state aid per private high school voucher elsewhere in the state.” How did that happen?!?
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