At a recent school board meeting, Deputy Superintendent Chad Wiese shared information about the impact of Wisconsin’s private school voucher program on funding in the Verona Area School District (VASD). As treasurer of the school board, I want to elaborate on this impact.
In my discussions with community members, I have learned that very few are aware of the non-transparent way in which vouchers are funded by the state government or the threat it poses to public education funding. Whether you support voucher programs or not, we can all benefit from increased transparency and awareness surrounding education funding.
Vouchers are funded indirectly by your property taxes, but you wouldn’t know that from looking at your tax bill. In Wisconsin, the state issues per-pupil voucher payments directly to private schools for eligible students. Those payments, roughly $10,877 for each K-8 student and $13,371 for each 9-12 student in 2025-26, are not funded with new state money, but rather by reducing state aid to the public school district where each voucher student resides…