Republican state lawmakers are taking issue with a recent report that claims an expansion of the school voucher program could result in several districts losing millions in state aid, with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) calling the report more “inflammatory than informative.”
The report from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates the school choice expansion plan included in Governor Walker’s budget could cost nine districts about $8 million in combined state aid. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) admits the figures are accurate, although he argues they are based on circumstances that are unlikely to apply in all districts.
Vos says the report assumes that each district would lose 110 students to private schools, which was not the case when vouchers were expanded to the Racine area. He also criticized the report for not using a rolling average to calculate revenue limits.
Vos says the results are based on a set of facts that are “not the norm,” noting the report was the result of questions asked by critics of school choice expansion.
AUDIO: Speaker Robin Vos (:39)
