It’s been about 35 years since the state Legislature created the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, granting tuition aid to private schools in the city for students of low-income families.
In the decades that followed, school choice programs were also approved in Racine and Kenosha counties and eventually statewide, leading to an explosion of private choice schools that almost exclusively serve voucher students.
In January 1999, there were 83 private schools participating in the Milwaukee school choice program, with a total enrollment of 6,047 students. Today, there are 130 private schools, with a total enrollment of 29,003 students, participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. Statewide, the total number of private choice schools has grown to 383. Another 11 schools have submitted applications to participate in the program next year, according to the state Department of Public Instruction, which could grow the number to 394 schools.
A funding win
Given the continued growth of voucher schools – especially those serving students in lower-income communities like Milwaukee and Racine – school choice advocates had long rallied for an increase in the per-pupil funding aid they receive from the state to give them equal footing with public schools, which can levy property taxes to help pay for operations and capital expenses.
With the passage of legislation in June that boosted per-pupil funding – from $8,336 to $9,874 in the current school year and to $10,271 in 2024-‘25 for private K-8 choice schools and from $9,045 to $12,368 and then to $12,765 for private choice high schools – leaders of area choice schools say they are eager to use the extra revenue to better support staff and students.
The same goes for independent charter schools, which saw their per-pupil aid increase from $9,264 to $11,366 this year and to $11,763 next year.
Planning and expanding
Although independent choice and charter schools are still not funded at the same level as their public counterparts – public schools in 2021-‘22 received an average of $16,589 per student, including $7,728 from the state, $6,488 from local property taxes, and $1,996 from the federal government – school leaders who spoke to BizTimes Milwaukee said the increase in reliable annual funding is something choice and charter schools can use to better plan for the future.
In some cases, that means added funding to support expansions, such as the Ramirez Family Foundation’s effort to convert the former Cardinal Stritch University campus in Glendale and Fox Point into a second St. Augustine Preparatory Academy campus, and Milwaukee Academy of Science’s plans to open a second campus at the former Penfield Montessori School at 2433 W. Cherry St. on the city’s west side.
Leaders involved in both projects have said that the increase in per-pupil funding played a role in decisions to pursue the expansions.
“We would not have gone forward had we not had the new funding by the state,” said Gus Ramirez, co-chair of the Ramirez Family Foundation, which bought the Cardinal Stritch campus for $24 million last year. “There are very few choice and charter schools today that can do major expansions under the old funding formula.”
Increasing teacher pay
For other schools, the increased funding will provide enough added revenue to boost salaries for teachers and other staff members.
“First and foremost, it will be to provide funding for competitive, attractive compensation for teachers,” said Jim Piatt, president of Messmer Catholic Schools. “Every school’s long-term fulfillment of its vision, and providing quality outcomes, depends first and foremost on high-quality educators. So, our first priority by a long shot is to solidify teacher compensation and provide training and resources for teachers to be as effective as possible.”
Messmer’s board had previously committed to improving and closing their teachers’ pay gap over the past five or six years, Piatt said, and with the funding increase they expect to make even more progress.
“Our board’s goal is to compensate staff at 90% of the market. And historically, Catholic schools have struggled to even be at 70% or 75% of the market,” he said.
For Evergreen Academy, a K-8 choice school in Mount Pleasant serving around 420 students – 99.5% of whom receive vouchers – the increased per-pupil funding is helping to boost wages as well as provide more extracurricular activities.
“The increase in per-pupil funding was such a blessing for our school,” said Michael Meier, directing principal at Evergreen. “We are the only voucher school in the Racine program that doesn’t have any backing from a religious organization. It helped us better compensate teachers, which was a great morale boost, and it has helped us rely less on fundraising to fund our extracurricular activities. This year, we added flag football and cheer and continued on with basketball, soccer, volleyball and track.”
Student supports
At Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Milwaukee, a lot of the increased funding will be put toward driving academic achievement, said school president Andrew Stith.
“Some of that is centered around working with the teachers, providing teachers more professional development to leverage better instructional practices in the classroom,” Stith said. “But it also includes building some more learning supports, like extra tutoring, for students. We all know coming out of the pandemic that students struggled in many different ways, and we know that there are certain learning supports that have to be in place in order to help (address those learning gaps).”
Cristo Rey was also able to invest in its space at the Northwestern Mutual Innovation Center, purchasing more equipment and supplies and hiring someone to support students.
“We want to make sure that we’re cultivating great ideas in the building and letting students run with them. And part of that is giving students the tools to be able to bring their ideas – at least prototypes of their ideas – to life,” Stith said.
Additionally, the high school is hiring a staff member to manage its corporate work study program, which includes working with the school’s 115 corporate work study partners, while also providing students in that program with the technology and training they need to be successful in their internships.
At Messmer, leaders also plan to hire more teachers to help boost STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) offerings as well as the music program.
“We have some excellent visual arts programming here,” Piatt said, “But we want to improve our music and performance opportunities, which I think like a lot of schools took a little bit of a hit during the pandemic.”
At Kenosha School of Technology Enhanced Curriculum, the increased funding will enable the STEM-focused school to hire more staff while also expanding access to technology for more students and increasing student-led initiatives, said Stacey Duchrow, principal and director of workforce solutions at KTEC.
Contemplating plans
While Messmer, Cristo Rey, KTEC and Evergreen Academy already have clear plans for the added funding, other choice and charter schools in the region are still studying how to best utilize the money.
That makes sense to Stith, who noted the Cristo Rey Network had happened to implement a new strategic plan just before the per-pupil funding increase was passed.
“Schools knew they needed more funding and it’s probably filled some gaps that they are grateful not to have to find other sources to help fill,” he said. “But I also think that schools want to spend those dollars in meaningful ways, so it takes some thought. We were fortunate to have some ideas right on the front burner. But I think there’s something to be said about really talking about where we want to make these investments. I think that’s probably part of what schools are going through. We have a gift in this funding, and we want to use it wisely.”
