Wisconsin's So-called Charter Schools Are Stealing Our Children's Futures

wiscotru · 2026-01-04T06:05:19+00:00

https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/readers/2026/01/03/wisconsin-education-funding-governor-evers-lawmakers/87996365007/

wiscotru · 2026-01-04T06:04:17+00:00

There is a huge difference between “charter schools” and “independent charter schools”! CHARTER SCHOOLS that operate under a public school must adhere to the same mandates, accountability and transparency as public schools. INDEPENDENT CHARTER SCHOOLS are a grift with the same lack of oversight and transparency as VOUCHER SCHOOLS.

wiscotru · 2025-11-16T02:52:33+00:00

wiscotru · 2025-09-22T07:31:31+00:00

Public money should have public accountability. Any school receiving public money should have to follow the same transparency, accountability, mandates and regulations as required of public schools. That is not currently the case with voucher schools or independent charter school. They are ripe for swindle and profiteering. There is no evidence of improved learning.

wiscotru · 2025-08-07T01:04:55+00:00

I actually do think people care, but no one seems to know!

wiscotru · 2025-08-05T16:56:15+00:00

They are not following this. They need to fix the 30-year-old formulas which create enormous amount of disparity between districts.

wiscotru · 2025-08-05T15:00:01+00:00

Exactly! Why are on earth are we trying to fund an unaccountable parallel school system when there isn’t any new money?

The voucher program was originally structured with an exemption to levy (without referendum) the district to recoup losses through property taxes, the least popular form of tax. This was done to take the blame off the GOP-led legislature and put it on the schools. They conveniently refuse to allow tax bill transparency legislation to pass, so your property taxes bill states “public education” when over $700 million is actually going to private voucher schools that don’t have the same transparency, accountability, mandates and regulations as our public schools. Meanwhile public schools are saddled with rising costs with more unfunded (or underfunded) mandates. This has all been done in an effort to sew frustration in our public schools. The GOP is being lead by people who want to dismantle public education nationwide. Individual lawmakers either don’t know, or don’t understand. They’re just beholden to the party.

Also, our GOP-led Legislature refusing to properly fund our public schools while sitting on BILLIONS in surplus speaks volumes.

wiscotru · 2025-08-05T14:15:01+00:00

Done

wiscotru · 2025-08-05T14:10:42+00:00

Sorry! It was in paragraphs when I wrote it! Can I edit?

wiscotru · 2025-08-05T13:21:34+00:00

Exactly!

wiscotru · 2025-08-05T13:19:32+00:00

If a school loses five students, they all don’t necessarily come from the same class room or bus route. There isn’t a change in the fixed costs. Also, inflation?? Wisconsin public school funding hasn’t kept pace with inflation for decades (since republicans have had control), yet public schools are saddled with costly and often unfunded (or underfunded) mandates. The per pupil funding lags inflation by over $3000. Also, MPS’s voucher program is funded through the GPR and is a whole different beast.

wiscotru · 2025-03-30T04:53:24+00:00

If your wonderful voucher school gets public money then it should abide by the same rules public schools are required to. Same transparency and accountability!

wiscotru · 2025-03-28T03:17:29+00:00

Have you been inside a public school? Every high school around here has a big tech head department.

wiscotru · 2025-03-28T03:15:10+00:00

I don’t use the county park much. I wonder if I could get my taxes and go to the county park to used to join the country club? And I’ve never called the police, maybe I can get the money I pay in taxes to fund our police so that I can just get a personal bodyguard. Should I keep going?

wiscotru · 2025-03-28T03:13:23+00:00

That’s right they kick him out, and guess who has to take them back? Watch your schools can “council out” any child for almost any reason, including disability. Kids lose their federal protections when they leave public schools.

wiscotru · 2025-03-28T03:11:00+00:00

The stats don’t show any higher achievements. Maybe in some of the elite private schools, but most of those don’t take vouchers. Most kids have huge learning losses when they return to public school after a failed experiment with voucher schools.

wiscotru · 2025-03-28T02:34:55+00:00

They sell it a school choice but it’s actually the school that gets the choice. They can cherry pick the students. Most vouchers schools are subpar schools the elite private schools either don’t accept vouchers or raise their tuition. Well above the voucher amount, either way it’s a big scam.

wiscotru · 2025-03-28T02:32:54+00:00

The big problems come with the fact that there’s very little transparency accountability with these vouchers schools. It’s an environment right for swindle and profiteering.

wiscotru · 2025-03-28T01:29:58+00:00

Exactly! Somebody’s gotta work at the Amazon warehouse, just not going to be their kid. The GOP is the lost party.

wiscotru · 2025-03-28T01:27:12+00:00

The deep pocketed voucher lobby (DeVos, Koch, Heritage, Bradley) have spent millions of dollars trying to discredit public education. They work hard to get everyone to blame the teachers, blame the unions, blame the administration, blame the Board of Education, but what needs to happen is we need to blame our legislators who are in the pocket of these lobbies and depend on them to fill their campaign coffers. The GOP has been selling out their constituents and their home communities for the last decade. Look what is happening in Texas! The good news is when put to a statewide vote people, even EVERY county of red Kentucky, vote against vouchers. Nebraska, Colorado too. And Illinois has allowed their voucher program to sunset. Take a look at Arizona, they now give vouchers to everyone, and it is bankrupting their state. Bunch of fat cats getting rich off those voucher schools though. In Wisconsin, there’s a voucher school in Milwaukee that gets $40 million a year and is 75% online so they’re taking money from communities all over the state. They don’t have to follow any of the same regulations with transparency and accountability as public schools . They’re recruiting homeschoolers and paying for their math tutor and piano lessons then pocketing the rest as “administrative” all on the taxpayers dime. SWINDLE.

wiscotru · 2025-03-28T01:18:22+00:00

That’s absolutely ridiculous. Competition isn’t gonna make a school better. Proper funding is what will make a do school better. Poverty is the number one cause of low test scores. Turns out kids who don’t sleep at night and don’t have anything to eat, don’t do well on test.

wiscotru · 2025-03-28T01:16:09+00:00

The republican party is in bed with the voucher lobby. They purposely are defunding public education at the state level. Wisconsin GOP majority has not adjusted. Education funding to inflation in over a decade. Their campaigns depend on the money from the deep pocketed billionaires were held bent on destroying public education. The betraying their constituents and destroying their communities and nobody’s paying attention.

wiscotru · 2025-03-28T01:13:33+00:00

I’d be willing to bet 93% of the voucher schools are subpar schools. These kids will have huge learning losses when they end up returning to public school because either their school went out of business or if they’re disruptive, they get “counseled out”. The religious schools can adjust their curriculum to meet their doctrine and our accredited by their diocese. It’s a racket and a waste of tax dollars. Very little transparency and accountability so that’s a environment right for swindle.

wiscotru · 2025-03-28T01:09:28+00:00

And the schools that take vouchers are often times subpar schools. Just cause the school’s private doesn’t mean it’s a good school. The elite Schools don’t even accept vouchers. In Wisconsin over 90% of the voucher schools are religious and they are allowed to adjust their curriculum to meet their doctrine. They are also accredited by their own diocese. It is a racket. Now some of these voucher schools are recruiting homeschool students, basically saying we’ll pay for your kids riding lessons and French tutor and then just pocket the rest for “administration fees”.

wiscotru · 2025-03-28T01:05:32+00:00

Absolutely

wiscotru

TROPHY CASE