Leader Staff
Three area private schools have registered to enroll taxpayer-funded voucher students during the 2016-17 school year.
The state on Thursday released a list of voucher schools statewide showing that St. James Lutheran School in Shawano and St. Paul Lutheran School in Bonduel both want to continue in the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program.
St. James joined the program this year; St. Paul joined the previous year.
St. Martin Lutheran School in Clintonville is applying for the first time.
The program uses taxpayer funds to subsidize religious and other private schools.
The state Department of Public Instruction says 135 private schools statewide have registered for the program, which funded 2,514 students this year at a cost to taxpayers of $7.3 million.
Shawano School District officials in October raised property taxes more than $200,000, citing a loss of state aid because of students leaving the public school system to attend voucher schools.
DPI says the list includes 31 new private schools applying to participate in the voucher program. It allows students who live outside the Milwaukee and Racine Unified school districts to use a taxpayer-funded subsidy to attend a participating private or religious school. The program is limited by parental income requirements, including a level of about $45,000 a year for a family of four.
The voucher for the 2016-2017 school year is about $7,300 for students in grades K through 8 and nearly $8,000 for high school students. Participating schools aren’t required to provide transportation for choice students.
Schools new to the program for fall must obtain pre-accreditation by Aug. 1 (if they are not already fully accredited). Prior to being eligible to receive voucher payments from the state, schools must, by May 1, submit information regarding their budget. They must also submit, by Aug. 1, documentation of their insurance coverage and certain school policies.