IMPACT OF PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS & CHARTER SCHOOLS ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Most Kids Attend Public School…

Private Schools (Tuition-Paying)

93 500

Voucher Schools

26 509

Virtual Charter Schools Independent (2r) Charters

6 964 8 412

Overall Enrollment (2013-14)

Public Schools:

875,000

Private Schools:

120,000 Charter Schools

29 298

Public Schools (Home District)

0 829 320 500 000 1 000 000 Source: Department of Public Instruction. Public School Enrollment Data http://lbstat.dpi.wi.gov/lbstat_pubdata3 Private School Enrollment Data http://lbstat.dpi.wi.gov/lbstat_privdata

Poverty is Growing

in WI…

Change in Free & Reduced Lunch (2001-2012)

Wisconsin FRL Rate Doubles

2001: 21% 2012: 43%

In many rural districts, more than half the students are eligible for free-and reduced lunch.

Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. School Finance Maps. http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/maps.html

And so are the # of Homeless Kids… 20 000 18 000 16 000 14 000 12 000 10 000 8 000 6 000 4 000 2 000 -

Homeless Children & Youth In Wisconsin Schools Half of Wisconsin’s homeless kids can be found in just 10 school districts.

Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Homeless Children and Youth data: http://homeless.dpi.wi.gov/hmls_data

And Poverty Impacts Achievement

(2012-13 Report Card Data)

HIGH-poverty, LOW-performing schools

There is a very strong correlation between poverty and school performance.

Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. School and District Report Cards http://reportcards.dpi.wi.gov/

LOW-poverty, HIGH-performing schools

Avg. FRL

Students are in Fewer Districts

Change Student Membership (2001-2012)

Wisconsin FRL Rate Doubles

2001: 21% 2012: 43%

Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. School Finance Maps. http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/maps.html

In 2001,

1/3 rd of districts

were in

declining enrollment

. By 2012, over

2/3rds districts

were in

declining enrollment

.

Today

, 75% of our students

are located in just

30% of our districts

.

Cumulative Enrollment Percentile # of Districts % of Districts 209,535 419,387 626,834 871,551 25% 50% 75% 100% 8 41 114 424 2% 11% 30% 100% District Enrollment Under 1,000 Under 3,000 Under 10,000 % of Districts 55% 83% 98%

Which Means Rural Districts Have Fewer Kids & Greater Poverty

Wisconsin FRL Rate Doubles

2001: 21% 2012: 43%

Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. School Finance Maps. http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/maps.html

Wisconsin is also Increasingly Diverse…

Black, 0.094

Proportions of Students of Color in Wisconsin (1997-2019) Hispanic, 0.033

Asian, 0.028

Native American, 0.013

0,18 0,16 0,14 0,12 0,1 0,08 0,06 0,04 0,02 0 Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction & University of Wisconsin –Madison, Applied Population Laboratory. Raw Data Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) 2009. http://nces.ed.gov/

And Students of Color are More Likely to Attend a Low-Performing School 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Fails to Meet Expectations Meets Few Expectations % Amer. Ind.

% Asian Meets Expectations % Black Exceeds Expectations % Hispanic Significantly Exceeds Expectations % White Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. School and District Report Cards http://reportcards.dpi.wi.gov/

…And Rural Schools Face Specific Challenges

     

Declining enrollment; Growing poverty; Staff shortages; Insufficient broadband infrastructure; Higher transportation costs; and Increasing numbers of English Language Learners (ELL).

Small schools have less

economy of scale

, making technology and infrastructure investments more expensive (fewer students to absorb costs).

Rural districts generally have

fewer support staff and administrators

(

the superintendent often is a principal and business administrator ),

meaning there fewer staff to implement state and federal initiatives.

Rural educators often receive

lower compensation and wear many hats

, requiring high levels of certification and commitment.

SCHOOL FINANCE

The share of the state budget spent on K-12 is at a 20-year low

50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

K-12 School Aids as a % of the State General Fund

As programs like Medicaid consume a larger share of the state budget, K 12’s share declines (even as the state invests new money) Source: Legislative Fiscal Bureau

During the Great Recession,

Revenue Limits

Were Cut …

Change in Per-Pupil Revenue Over Time $400 $300 $200 $100 $ $(100) $(200) $(300) $(400) $(500) $(600)

Pep-Pupil Aid Revenue Limit Change Source: Department of Public Instruction. 2011-13 State Budget. http://pb.dpi.wi.gov/pb_11-13_budget 2013-15 State Budget. http://news.dpi.wi.gov/news_2013-15-state-budget-information

Which has Resulted in Significant

Staff Reductions

Teachers Aides Administrators Support Staff 215

400 200 0 -200 -400 -600 -800 -1000 -1200 -1400 -1600 -1800

-599 -690 -1,676 -355 -153 -812 26 -43 -175

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

Wisconsin schools cut more than 3,000 educators during the Great Recession.

-130 -785

Source: Department of Public Instruction. 2011-13 State Budget. http://pb.dpi.wi.gov/pb_11-13_budget 2013-15 State Budget. http://news.dpi.wi.gov/news_2013-15-state-budget-information

FUNDING EXPANSION OF STATEWIDE VOUCHERS AND PRIVATE CHARTER SCHOOLS

Most Kids Attend Public School

83%

Neighborhood Public Schools (830,000) Total Enrollment (2013-14)

Public Schools: 875,000 Private Schools: 120,000

Source: Department of Public Instruction. Public School Enrollment Data http://lbstat.dpi.wi.gov/lbstat_pubdata3 Private School Enrollment Data http://lbstat.dpi.wi.gov/lbstat_privdata

9%

Private School (Private Pay/Tuition) (93,500)

3% 3% 1% 1%

Private School Vouchers (26,500) Public Charter Schools (29,300) Public Virtual Charters (7,000) Public Independent Charters (8,400)

Charter Schools & Independent (2r) Charters Schools

In 2013-14, Wisconsin had:



242 charters* schools with



47,600 students.

Charters are public schools that are generally authorized by the local school board.

However, Milwaukee and Racine have

independent

charter schools that are created by: • UW – Milwaukee (12) • City of Milwaukee (10) • UW – Parkside (1) • Milwaukee Area Technical College (0)

The 23 Independent (2r) charter schools enroll 8,400 students, but are funded differently.

Independent charter schools are 100% state funded (no property tax), but only receive $7,925 per-pupil

($8,075 in 14-15)

.

However, this state funding is created by withholding ≈1.4% of every district’s general aid and redirecting it to the independent charters. Local districts then can increase their property taxes to make up the difference – essentially raising property taxes statewide.

* This includes instrumentality, non-instrumentality, independent and virtual charter schools.

Source: Department of Public Instruction. Charter Schools in Wisconsin. http://sms.dpi.wi.gov/sms_csindex

Voucher Programs Started Small, But Have Grown Over Time

341

35 000 30 000 25 000 20 000 15 000 10 000 5 000 In 1998, the State Supreme Court ruled that religious schools could participate in the voucher program. In 1990-91, the Voucher Program cost In 2014-15, the Voucher Program will cost:

≈ $734,000 ≈ $212,000,000

Source: Department of Public Instruction. Private School Choice Programs - Facts & Figures. http://sms.dpi.wi.gov/choice_facts_statistics

Most Students in Voucher Schools are Publicly-Funded

2013-14 % Voucher Enrollment in Choice Schools (September Pupil Count)

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Milwaukee PCP average: 79% Racine PCP average: 44% Wisconsin PCP average: 4% All PCP schools average: 64%

MPCP RPCP WPCP

The % of voucher-funded students in participating schools (particularly K-8 schools) tends to grow over time.

Source: Department of Public Instruction. Private School Choice Programs - Facts & Figures. http://sms.dpi.wi.gov/choice_facts_statistics

…And Most Statewide Voucher Students Come From Private Schools

2014-15 Statewide Choice Program Applications: 120 4% 51 2% 11 0% Sales

3/4ths of the students were already enrolled in private schools

537 19% 2115 75%

Private Public No School Homeschool Out-of-State Source: Department of Public Instruction. Private School Choice Programs - Facts & Figures. http://sms.dpi.wi.gov/choice_facts_statistics

Most Statewide Voucher Students Came From Private Schools

2014-15 Statewide Choice Program Enrollment (FTE): 7 22 2% 4% 10 2% Sales

Less than 1/5 th of participants came from a public school

100,5 19% 383,5 73%

Private Public Homeschool No School Out-of-State Source: Department of Public Instruction. Private School Choice Programs - Facts & Figures. http://sms.dpi.wi.gov/choice_facts_statistics

Most Statewide Voucher Schools are Located in Larger Communities Appleton - 2 Beloit & Janesville - 1 Bonduel - 1 Chippewa Falls - 1 Eau Claire & Altoona - 1 Fond du Lac - 2 Green Bay & De Pere - 4 Kenosha - 2 LaCrosse & Onalaska - 1 Madison - 1 Manitowoc - 2 Marshfield - 1 Menasha & Neenah - 1 Oshkosh - 1 Plymouth - 1 Stevens Point & Plover - 1 Wausau & Rothschild - 1 Wisconsin Rapids - 2

However, Voucher Schools Still Get Less Per-Pupil Funding

Per-Pupil Revenue Authority by School Type

$12 000 $10 000 $8 000 $6 000 $4 000

2014

$2 000

2012

$-

Public Schools Independent Charters Voucher Schools

Public school revenue has not caught up to the 2010 funding level.

Source: Department of Public Instruction. 2013-15 State Budget Information. http://news.dpi.wi.gov/news_2013-15-state-budget-information

2010

A Voucher in Every Backpack?

What would universal vouchers with public school funding parity cost?

Let’s do the math…

New Cost for Tuition-Paying Students

Number of Private Pay Students X Public School Revenue Limit = Marginal Cost for Universal Vouchers 93,000 X $10,000 =

$930,000,000

Grade K-8 9-12

Increased Cost for Current Voucher Students (2013-14)

Public School Revenue Limit $10,000 $10,000 Voucher Amount $7,210 $7,856 Difference $2,790 $2,144 X X X Voucher Enrollment 23,616 5,184 = = = Marginal Cost $65,888,700 $11,114,500

Total 28,800 $77,003,200 Total additional (marginal) cost for universal vouchers: $ 1,007,003,200 ( $1 billion )

Source: Department of Public Instruction. 2013-15 State Budget Information. http://news.dpi.wi.gov/news_2013-15-state-budget-information Note: calculations are updated to determine marginal, rather than total program costs.