For the first time since its 1998 expansion to include religious schools, enrollment in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) did not grow in the 2010-2011 school year. Currently, 20,996 private school students receive taxpayer-funded tuition vouchers (of $6,442 per pupil), a decrease of 66 students over last year. Chart 1 shows program…

This is the 13th annual report on the conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District (RUSD). This year, the analysis again focuses on the long-term historical trends in RUSD and compares the district to nine peer districts across the state. The peer districts are those with the most similar enrollments to RUSD. The report is configured in…

Between the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years, fewer new schools joined the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) than ever before. In addition, 14 MPCP schools closed and another three schools merged--the most year-over-year closures the program has seen. In this 12th edition of the Public Policy Forum's annual census of MPCP schools, the…

This is the 12th annual report on conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District (RUSD). This year, the analysis again focuses on the long-term historical trends in RUSD. The analysis compares RUSD data to data of nine peer school districts as well as statewide data. The peer districts are defined as those Wisconsin districts with…

This 11th annual census indicates that, after more than 10 years of growth, many characteristics of MPCP (Milwaukee Parental Chide Program) schools are not markedly different from those of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). Key findings reported include: (1) Total voucher use grew 5% over last year, the second smallest annual growth since religious…

Changes in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program's enabling legislation were intended to increase program ability to enroll dissatisfied public school students while ensuring some third-party accountability for voucher schools. After changes in eligibility requirements and the lifting of the enrollment cap, enrollment did grow, but much of the…

This brochure displays the following data for seven counties in southeastern Wisconsin for the 2007-2008 school year: (1) Total operations expenditures; (2) Property tax revenue; (3) Total enrollment; (4) One-year change in enrollment; (5) Minority enrollment; (6) Free or reduced lunch; (7) Graduation rate; (8) 3rd, 4th, 8th and 10th grade…

This brochure displays the following data for seven counties in southeastern Wisconsin for the 2006-2007 school year: (1) Total operations expenditures; (2) Property tax revenue; (3) Total enrollment; (4) One-year change in enrollment; (5) Minority enrollment; (6) Free or reduced lunch; (7) Graduation rate; (8) 3rd, 4th, 8th and 10th grade…

During the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program's (MPCP) 15th year, the statutory cap on voucher enrollment was met: for the first time, the voucher program enrollment surpassed 15% of Milwaukee Public School (MPS) enrollment. Hitting the cap has triggered a heated political debate. Voucher advocates argue that the cap should be lifted, that…

This brochure displays the following data for seven counties in southeastern Wisconsin for the 2004-2005 school year: (1) Total operations expenditures; (2) Property tax revenue; (3) Total enrollment; (4) One-year change in enrollment; (5) Minority enrollment; (6) Free or reduced lunch; (7) Habitual truancy; (8) 3rd Grade Wisconsin Reading and…

Public schools in the seven counties of southeastern Wisconsin spent $3.1 billion in 2004-2005 to employ 36,234 teachers and educate 308,936 children. Taken together, the region's K-12 public schools would be the largest employer in southeastern Wisconsin and the largest workforce developer in the region. The scale of K-12 public education is…

This year continues a 14-year trend of growth in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). More students than ever before are attending the city's private schools using taxpayer-funded vouchers. In addition, more private schools participate than ever before, including a significant number of schools new to the program. This growth has put…

One criticism of Milwaukee's Parental Choice Program (MPCP) made by parents and policy makers focuses on the lack of information regarding student performance across participating schools. Schools participating in the MPCP are not required to either administer standardized exams or report their scores. The Public Policy Forum's annual census of…

Today in Milwaukee 11,163 children receive vouchers to attend 107 different private schools. What began as an experiment in market-based education reform has grown to be one of the largest educational programs in the state of Wisconsin. Over the past five years, the Public Policy Forum has conducted a census of all schools participating in the…

One school year after implementation of the Neighborhood Schools Initiative (NS), more Milwaukee Public School (MPS) district schools enroll more neighborhood students, although the increase in neighborhood enrollment is not the result of capacity-building; fewer schools have the capacity to enroll all their neighborhood students than two years…