COOK COUNTY – If things aren't frustrating enough in Illinois with a new 32% income tax hike, a five-cent per gallon gas tax hike, Cook County's new ridiculous one cent per ounce tax on sugared drinks, and Chicago's defiant sanctuary city status, another development north of Illinois' border is making Wisconsin just a little more enticing for hard-working taxpayers … as if it needed to be.
From the 74 Million news site, a story entitled "A Reboot for School Choice in Wisconsin as Republicans Propose Dramatically Expanding Charters & Vouchers?" says …
An expansion of charter schools and publicly funded vouchers is likely to move forward in Wisconsin as legislators hammer out a biennial budget over the next few weeks. Republican majorities in both houses of the state legislature are also mulling a boost to online “e-schooling” and limitations on local referenda that raise school funding through property taxes.
The proposals are taking shape in response to long-term trends in both education and politics. Local observers are split on their merits, with debate intensifying around two proposals in particular. One would raise the income cap for participation in a statewide voucher program, potentially extending access to middle-class families. The other would dramatically extend the reach of a state agency charged with authorizing new charter schools.
Meanwhile, statewide elections over a year away are already beginning to influence lawmakers’ calculations. “[Republican Gov. Scott] Walker is up for re-election, and he’s trying to fix areas of perceived weakness,” says Dan Rossmiller, director of government relations for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. “I imagine school funding is one of those.”
More HERE.
