Public money for voucher schools demands accountability
Amy Nasr
Trump is waving billions of dollars around to advance school privateers around the nations and to purposefully defund public schools. The federal school choice plan is projected to grow to $26 billion annually by 2030, an amount which dwarfs what’s now spent on school meals or Title I low income-based aid. Many public schools rely on these two programs, which are now threatened under the Trump Administration.
Wisconsin’s children are already losing out on nearly $1 billion a year in public education funding as it instead flows to private voucher schools, many of which remain black holes of academic and financial accountability.
The results of privatization are evident in Milwaukee. Almost all of Milwaukee’s private schools enroll overwhelmingly voucher-funded students. Their student outcomes do not outperform public schools; many perform worse.
The Academy of Excellence in Milwaukee demonstrates why accountability matters. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (MJS) reported the school received roughly $40 million in taxpayer-funded voucher payments in 2024–25 while enrolling approximately 3,800 students, most through virtual instruction. In its reporting, MJS noted the school scored just 51.6 (meets few expectations) out of 100 on its state report card, while millions of dollars were paid to companies controlled by relatives of the school’s founder.
Because Milwaukee vouchers are funded directly from the State’s general-purpose revenue (GPR), all taxpayers across Wisconsin pay the cost.
However, outside Milwaukee, vouchers are mostly funded locally through property taxes. Since voucher students often represent a smaller percentage of enrollment, school-wide report cards are not required. This lack of transparency makes statewide voucher schools far more difficult (impossible) to evaluate.
The principle should be simple. Public money requires public accountability and public transparency. School-wide report cards, publicly available financial statements, and meaningful open-records requirements should be mandatory for every school that receives public funds.
Taxpayers demand it. And our kids deserve it.
