This week, headlines lit up with the news that "one school [in Milwaukee, Wisconsin] that received millions of dollars through the nation's oldest and largest voucher program, was founded by a convicted rapist" and that "another school reportedly entertained kids with Monopoly while cashing $330,000 in tuition checks for hundreds of no-show students." Voucher critics were quick to charge that "schools are required to report virtually nothing about their methods to the state, or to track their students' performance" and therefore that they are "a prime target for abuse." While there is no doubt that this kind of scandal (similar to ones that have rocked public schools and their teacher unions around the land) should not go uninvestigated and, if true, unpunished, we agree with Howard Fuller, former superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools and longtime voucher proponent. He notes that "it would be unfair to cast a shadow over all voucher schools because of one failure." A related item: this week's Democratic mayoral primary was won by former Congressman Tom Barrett, who has opposed raising the cap imposed on the percentage of Milwaukee students who can participate in the voucher program-a real issue now that demand for this program is bumping up against that cap.
"Milwaukee voucher program hit by scandal," by Juliette Williams, Associated Press, April 5, 2004
"School choice offers faint contrast in race," by Sarah Carr, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, March 24, 2004