Burke Says She Would Not Roll Back Milwaukee Voucher School Program

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke said on Wednesday that she wants to roll back the statewide expansion of Wisconsin’s publicly funded private school voucher program, but she won’t try to stop the program in Milwaukee.

Burke told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board that she “accepts the landscape” as it is when it comes to the Milwaukee School Choice program, saying she does not want to refight old battles. But Burke said there’s no evidence that voucher schools do a better job than the public school system, which Burke called the “foundation of our economy.”

“It’s the thread or the fabric around so many of our communities, particularly when you get to the rural areas of the state,” said Burke. “And what they have seen over the Walker administration are continued cuts to the funding. So going with a statewide expansion just continues to threaten the funding and the livelihood of those schools.”

Walker expanded the voucher program to 1,000 students statewide last session. Walker has since said that he wants to lift that enrollment cap if he wins a second term.