Future of school choice in Wisconsin: Parents’ choice

(The Center Square | Benjamin Yount) – School choice advocates in Wisconsin say the coronavirus has changed the conversation about parents having choices in their kids’ education.
“We…

(The Center Square | Benjamin Yount) – School choice advocates in Wisconsin say the coronavirus has changed the conversation about parents having choices in their kids’ education.

“We don’t need to talk about school choice like we did three years ago, because education three years from now will look completely different,” Jim Bender with School Choice Wisconsin, told The Center Square Wednesday.

Bender said the past two years of “arrogance” and opposition from public school administrators have pushed a growing number of parents to realize they need more choices for what is best for their kids.

“You’re either having bureaucrats make these decisions or you’re having parents,” Bender explained. “And I think what a lot of people have woken up to is that, at the end of the day, you need to have parents in charge.”

Bender said the future of school choice is parents’ choice.

He said the way that public school boards and school administrators handled the coronavirus and the rules for keeping kids in their classrooms sent a lot of parents looking for choices.

“Parents were told it was none of their business, or that they had no control over their kids’ education. It was an arrogance of the elite in health and education,” Bender said. “They basically said, ‘We’re going to make these decisions for you. You have no say in them.’”

But while Bender said more and more parents are opening up to school choice, Democratic lawmakers and the education establishment continue their opposition.

On Tuesday, Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, introduced a plan that he says would show how much money Wisconsin’s voucher program was taking in.

“Many of our neighbors are unaware that voucher programs are funded largely by taking money away from local public schools,” Larson said. “This bill lifts the veil on this unfortunate reality, allowing taxpayers to make more informed decisions about how we fund education in our state moving forward.”

This week is National School Choice Week, and Bender said school choice opponents like Larson have tried this sort of thing before.

“Their opposition to school choice has nothing to do with education. It has nothing to do with kids, it has nothing to do with the betterment of families, it has nothing to do with creating a better society or a more well-educated populace,” Bender added. “All they want to talk about are the nit-picky things they can go after because it hides the real reason. The money, power, and control that funds their side of the aisle, they’re protecting that.”