Will your grandchildren’s children attend public schools ? Privatization and the future of Wisconsin’s K-12 syst

1. Will your grandchildren’s childrenattend public schools?Privatization and the future of Wisconsin’s K-12 system WREA Convention Stevens Point, Wis. May 8, 2013 Jack Norman jacknorman100@gmail.com

2. What a hot topic! If you are surreptitiously checking out the internet on some device, let us know if there’s breaking news on vouchers and the budget

3. Vouchers top the news

4. Will your grandchildren’s childrenattend public schools?Privatization and the future of Wisconsin’s K-12 system For the foreseeable future, the voucher movement (and, broadly, the privatization of education) will be strong politically.

5. The voucher movement undermines the promise of universal, free, quality education • Voucher schools are open only to children meeting entrance requirements. • Voucher schools can be secretive about many things, including student achievement, finances, governance, discipline. • Public schools are open to all children. • Public schools are publicly accountable. “Separate and unequal”

6. Voucher expansion in Walker’s budget • Increase state aid to K-8 voucher schools to $7,050, up 9% • Increase aid to voucher high schools to $7,856, up 22%. • For public schools, revenue cap is frozen; total spending up 1.9% • Statewide vouchers for students with disabilities • Allowable incomes increased to 300% of poverty (to about $70,000 for family of four) • Presumes growth in Milwaukee from 23,400 this year to 27,000 in 2 years • Presumes growth in Racine from 500 this year to 1,000 in 2 years • Statewide expansion to districts with at least 4,000 students and at least two schools graded in bottom two tiers • Beloit • Fond du Lac • Green Bay • Kenosha • Madison • Sheboygan • Superior • Waukesha • West Allis-West Milwaukee

8. This is the most critical front-line issue in Wisconsin this week, next week… • Do you live in one of the nine cities? • Is your state senator or your state representative a Republican? Especially: Then the battle has come to your front yard. Everyone else needs to help you.

9. Wisconsin was the voucher pioneer 1989: Wisconsin legislature passed the nation’s first modern school voucher program. 2001:Florida became the first state to offer private school vouchers to students with disabilities. 2004:the first federally funded and administered voucher program was enacted by Congress in Washington, D.C. 2007: Utah created the first statewide universal school voucher program. A petition effort placed it on the state ballot for voter approval. In November 2007, the ballot measure was voted down and the new voucher program was never implemented. 2011:Indiana created the nation’s first state-wide school voucher program for low income students. Source: National Council of State Legislatures

10. Today, at least 16 states are considering school choice legislation Texas Alaska Montana Pennsylvania Tennessee Arkansas South Carolina Indiana Wisconsin Arizona Florida Nevada Illinois Ohio Iowa New Jersey Source: The Heartland Institute

11. Vouchers came to Wisconsin through an extraordinary coalition of right-wing ideologues and urban school reformers “In 1989 two Milwaukee African-American Democrats, Representative Annette "Polly" Williams and State Senator Gary George, representing Wisconsin's poorest and most concentratedly minority legislative districts, forged an unexpected coalition with conservative Wisconsin Republicans to pass the nation's first program that let poor Milwaukee parents enroll up to one thousand, five hundred children in independent secular schools directly funded by the state.” —John Gardner (voucher supporter and then-member Milwaukee school board)

12. Two goals—one master • The “alleged failure” of public education motivated pure education reformers • The “alleged failure” of government in general motivated privatization activists

13. After more than a decade, no showing of improvement in voucher schools “There isn't much evidence that students in voucher schools are better educated; in fact, they seem to perform at about the same level as their peers in mainline public schools.” April 30, 2103 “If there is any justification for the voucher schools, it's to give impoverished families a ‘choice.’ We have long supported choice for the poor and believe the program should be limited to those families. Republicans essentially are advocating a shadow school system. Why not work harder to adequately fund and hold accountable the system we have?

14. And yet Walker wants to offer vouchers for all special education students?

15. But political campaign cashis on the side of the privatizers

16. “Which brings us to school reform, the subject I’ve been asked to talk about. In 2016, in time for the next presidential election, every child now in high school will be eligible to vote for the president of the United States. Who will they vote for? In 2020, when it comes time to reelect or replace that president, every child now in middle school will be eligible to vote. Who will they vote for? Here’s my main point: So long as government owns and operates 90 percent of the schools in the United States, we have no right to expect that fewer than 90 percent of students who graduate are socialists. As Milton Friedman once said, we have no right to expect cats to bark or dogs to meow. So why should we expect government schools to do anything other than produce graduates who support more government? It’s a cruel thing to say, but it’s true.” February 23, 2013 Eighth Annual Wisconsin Conservative Conference, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin Joseph L. Bast President, The Heartland Institute “The complete privatization of schooling might be desirable, but this objective is politically impossible for the time being. Vouchers are a type of reform that is possible now, and would put us on the path to further privatization.” Source: The Heartland Institute

17. Source: Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau

18. Nearly all voucher schools are religious Source: Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau

19. Examples of Milwaukee voucher schools Source: Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau

20. Financial consequence of expansion Source: Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau

21. What to do? The immediate fight • Especially if you have access to Republican legislators, keep the pressure on them • Remove all privatization measures from the budget • Make sure special education advocates are aware of the Governor’s proposal • Push for increase in funding for public schools

22. Public education also appears stalled • Overall lack of progress is disappointing. • The moral is: America has a problem educating many of its children. • We now know that “public education” isn’t to blame. But we’re stuck with the fact that to many “public education” isn’t the solution either.

23. We have to improve public schools • Make them so good –