Milwaukee Catholic Herald – January 5, 2006

School choice rationing plan could put Milwaukee Catholic schools in jeopardy

Some could lose hundreds of choice seats

By Sam Lucero
Catholic Herald Staff

MILWAUKEE — A decision to begin rationing student participation in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program next fall is not sitting well with Catholic school leaders. On Dec. 27, Tricia Collins, a Department of Public Instruction official and administrator of the choice program, sent a letter to participating MPCP schools announcing the rationing plan. MPCP allows low-income parents to send their children to private schools using state-funded vouchers.

The rationing plan came about after Gov. Jim Doyle and Republican legislative leaders were unable to reach agreement on lifting or eliminating the cap on the number of students who could participate in the program. More than 125 schools participate in the choice program, with an enrollment cap of approximately 14,500 students. Thirty-four Catholic schools participate in the program, with approximately 5,350 students using vouchers.

Capuchin Br. Bob Smith, archdiocesan director for educational and formational services, told the Catholic Herald that he was disappointed by the announcement.

“It’s essentially playing political football with the lives of children and poor parents and it’s wrong,” he said. Br. Bob also serves as president of Messmer Catholic Schools, which enrolls more than 700 choice students at its elementary and high schools.

Br. Bob said he will be meeting with Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan regarding the matter.

“From our prior conversations, (Archbishop Dolan) is going to be terribly disappointed in this development because we had felt all along that the Department for Public Instruction and the governor’s office would be working in good faith to expand the program,” said Br. Bob. “He has wanted the governor to speak with the legislative leaders to get this thing resolved. This has gone on for over a year, so it’s really disappointing at the 11th hour, to say we’re going to ration seats.”

By law, enrollment in the school choice program cannot exceed 15 percent of enrollment in Milwaukee Public Schools. Without rationing, that number is expected to go over the cap next year. Under the prorate process, each MPCP school could potentially fill only 75 percent of the seats open to choice students. Private schools have until Feb. 1 to register for the voucher program, and schools will be notified by Feb. 20 of the number of seats available for voucher students.

Br. Bob said that over the next few weeks he will work to eliminate the rationing plan and call on state leaders to either lift or eliminate the cap on school vouchers.

“As the archbishop’s representative, I will spend every ounce of my energy talking with legislators, business leaders and foundation leaders to put as much pressure as possible on people to make this right,” he said.

He also plans to speak with Catholic school leaders “to reassure them that we will get this fixed, because the worst thing is for people to not have hope. I am just very confident that this community will not allow this to take place.”

Julia Hutchinson, principal of St. Adalbert School, said the rationing proposal “could have a devastating effect on our school. Students that could potentially pay full (tuition) simply don’t exist in this neighborhood.”

Hutchinson said St. Adalbert, a K4-8 school, has an enrollment of 415 students, with 392 choice students. About 96 percent of the student body is Hispanic. If St. Adalbert has to cut back on choice students next fall, Hutchinson said the school will have to close classrooms.

“We have talked about the potential things, such as possibly closing the junior high and not being able to accept 4-year-old kindergartners, which is crucial to our school to begin English language development,” said the administrator.

“What’s sad is they continue to allow choice schools to open that are essentially daycares and have no curriculum, no real certified teachers or administrators, which takes away more seats,” she said.

Terry Brown, president of St. Anthony School in Milwaukee, worries that school choice has become a political casualty.

“I don’t think it’s helpful to mix up school choice with all the additional issues in the governor’s educational package,” he said.

Gov. Doyle is expected to introduce an education package which raises the MPCP cap to 18 percent. However, it includes other proposals related to MPS.

“It essentially holds school choice hostage to additional funding for MPS,” said Brown. “The problem is, MPS can continue next year to enroll children. Choice schools may not be able to.”

St. Anthony School, a K4-8 school on Milwaukee’s south side, has the largest enrollment of school choice students in the archdiocese. Brown said the school has a full-time equivalent of 795 choice students. Based on what he has heard, St. Anthony could lose between 200 and 400 students next year, said Brown.

Two additional concerns exist regarding the rationing plan, said Brown: not knowing how many new schools will enroll for participation in school choice next fall, and having parents register at both MPS and choice schools. Both scenarios will add chaos to the planing process.

“It throws MPS off as well. You can’t make an accurate determination of teachers to hire and schools to expand when those registrations may not be real,” he said.

St. Leo Catholic Urban Academy, a K4-8 school located on Milwaukee’s north side, has an enrollment of 162 students, with approximately 155 choice students. According to Todd Antony, principal, the entire student body is African-American and the majority of school families live in the poverty range. “Over 95 percent of our families qualify for the free hot lunch program,” he said.

“In a very practical sense, (rationing) would threaten the existence of the school,” said Antony. “The lost revenue from losing those other seats would have to be made up in some way, through a third source of funding. ... It’s not a reality that families could start paying tuition. It’s not a financial reality for them.”

A meeting between St. Leo and St. Rose Catholic Urban Academy officials was slated for Jan. 4, he said. Administrators were to discuss the proposed rationing plan and how to share the information with parents.

While the Department for Public Instruction has outlined a rationing plan, no details were given about how to go about making cutbacks, said Antony. “From what I’ve seen, nothing allows for special treatment of existing families. The only thing we’ve seen is a 75 percent rationing cap.”

Antony worries that families may register at several choice schools in an effort to guarantee spots for their children. “What do you do if they are accepted at more than one school?” he asked.

Br. Bob said that citizens can act to help resolve the issue.

“Catholic social teaching is very clear on justice and this laughs in the face of it,” he said. “I think the Catholic community needs to engage in a writing campaign to the governor ... and essentially call him to task. I normally don’t call out people publicly, but this irritates me because it’s kids you’re playing with.

“I am unwilling to sit quietly and watch the poor thrown around again. We have to put our priorities together,” added Br. Bob. “The governor is Catholic, the head of DPI is Catholic, any number of people in those (legislative) positions are Catholic. If you’re going to call yourself Catholic, then practice it. You have to do what’s right. If you’re not going to do it , then let’s say it.”

While Br. Smith acknowledges that the voucher program helps sustain Catholic schools in Milwaukee, he points out that these schools are reaching out to non-Catholic students.

“One of the great things about this program is that you have any number of faiths in our Catholic schools. That’s what’s great about our schools. We have Catholic social teaching, Catholic doctrine and Catholic identity. But we are big enough to open our arms (to people of other faiths). Those people trust us.”