From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Gov. Jim Doyle's staff on Monday canceled a meeting with Rep. Fred Kessler (D-Milwaukee) that had been set for today so Kessler could present ideas for revamping Milwaukee's school voucher program.
...Kessler circulated a memo last week to seven other Milwaukee Democrats in the Assembly, suggesting that his proposals would help correct funding problems for Milwaukee Public Schools and lead to a reduction in enrollment in the voucher program of nearly 40%.
Prominent voucher school advocates reacted strongly to Kessler's ideas, saying the changes would damage the voucher program, increase overall costs for educating Milwaukee children and deny many parents the range of choice they now have.
Kessler said he was not told why Doyle's office canceled the appointment, and a new date was not set.
That's weird. Kessler didn't receive any explanation at all for the cancellation?
Avoiding the issues won't make them go away. Doyle can't keep his head in the sand.
Kessler's ideas drew political ire Monday as voucher supporters mobilized. Doyle took heat from all sides in 2005, when the voucher law was changed to expand the program to as many as 22,500 students while adding provisions such as an accreditation requirement.
...Kessler's ideas include reducing voucher payments to some schools that give scholarships to students who don't qualify for vouchers, and limiting voucher payments to no more than the amount charged for tuition for nonvoucher students. Currently, voucher payments are based on the amount a school spends to educate a child, up to $6,501. Some schools charge lower amounts for tuition to nonvoucher students.
He estimated that if his ideas were adopted, voucher enrollment would fall from more than 19,000 students to perhaps less than 12,000.
Gee, I wonder why Kessler's ideas "drew political ire."
Perhaps because as "Susan Mitchell, president of School Choice Wisconsin, said 'the impact of the Kessler plan likely would be a near or complete shutdown' of the voucher program."
"At this point," Kessler said, "it's probably unlikely that the voucher program would end because of the number of students involved. I am a believer in free public education, and I am deeply concerned about efforts to privatize education because I think that ultimately works to the detriment of poor people."
Kessler is blind. Maybe he's not really blind. He's just choosing to close his eyes.
School Choice doesn't work to the detriment of the poor. How? By giving parents choice when it comes to their children's education? How is that detrimental?
Kessler claims to believe in "free public education."
Hey! Kessler! It's not free. Taxpayers fund public education.
He says he's worried about privatizing education. What he's really concerned about is parents being able to decide where they want their children to go to school. He doesn't want all kids to have the same opportunities.
Clearly, Kessler's ideas are aimed at chipping away at the voucher program. He wants to eliminate it altogether. That's the goal, not better education for Milwaukee's kids.
He has a problem with using tax dollars to empower parents to provide their children with an education at the school of their choice.
He's worried about poorer children breaking free of the public school monopoly.
Kessler wants to stand in the way of equal educational opportunities for all kids.
Opponents of School Choice, like Kessler, do not have the best interests of the children at heart.
They would rather trap the poor in failing schools and doom them to bleak futures.
Meanwhile, Doyle tries to run and hide.
Think of how many more students' lives might have been improved, their futures altered for the better, if Mark Green had been elected.
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