Voucher programs work. This recent study found large, statistically significant positive impacts on college enrollments of African American students. If you are still biased to this fact, watch Waiting for Superman to open your eyes.
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http://www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/PDF/Impa...

Maybe Republican Mike Ellis knew what his fellow lemmings were doing was wrong and made the call to help slow down the shenanigans that were just starting. Maybe Republican Mike Ellis gets it that the far right tactics don't appeal to the average citizen these days and a little closer to center may help him get re-elected in 2014. Maybe his actions reflect the wishes of his constituents rather than his party's corporate puppet masters. It is time to get back to bi-partisan politics and do what is right for the good of all people.

Mike (Rino) Ellis showed his colors during the Flee bag runaway, he helped them leave.

"When he heard the plans, Cullen called Senate President Mike Ellis, R-Neenah, to ask if he could enter the Capitol without being detained.

"He said fine, come in. There's no problem," Cullen told the State Journal.

Ellis, who runs the Senate, cautioned Cullen to leave by 11 a.m., when the Senate was scheduled to consider the bill and he would be forced to institute a "call of the house" to try to compel the 14 senators back to the chamber.

Cullen said he later got a call from Ellis as he drove south toward Illinois: "Did you get out of here?"

When assured that Cullen was out of Madison, he said Ellis responded, "Good. I just wanted to double check."

Ellis could not be reached for confirmation on Friday."

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/g...

Scott Walker's budget slashed $250 million in support for the UW system and made a 30% reduction in investments in the technical college system...Also...Walker's budget took power and authority away from local school boards and slashed nearly $1.6 billion in state aid to local public school districts, while increasing funding for schools run by private organizations, including for-profit corporations, like those favored by the conservative American Federation of Children. The American Federation of Children, run in Wisconsin by longtime Republican operative Scott Jensen, a colleague of Scott Walker's in the Legislature, spent nearly $820,000 on independent expenditures and phony issue ads in the 2010 fall elections. Scott Walker himself was the recipient of $70,000 in direct contributions from so-called "choice" advocates. [WI Act 10, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign]
Soon after being elected, Walker created a political firestorm when he introduced a biennial budget that greatly defunds state programs that aid low-income families, the elderly and children. Yeah, what a guy!

So, aside from Walker busy working on GOP Voter Suppression Tactics, promoting the bill to strip public workers of collective bargaining rights and controversial budget cuts to public education, the University system and health care, the main question: Is Privatization of the school system what we REALLY need? Let's see.... Budget hawks question whether it is appropriate for the state to be subsidizing kids from wealthy families.....The public schools are wondering why they would get cut while voucher schools and charter schools are held harmless or even advanced.....The teachers unions are concerned about the standards and accountability of the private schools....Walker and the GOP controlled legislature added $16.3 million in spending on 2r charters for the 2011-13 biennium.... Unlike other charter school programs across the state that are run by school districts, 2r independent charters are not accountable through the democratic process of local control.... As opposed to charter schools sponsored by school boards that are staffed by public employees, 2r charters more closely resemble private schools in their staffing, management and accountability than they do public schools. The combination of the increase in spending on the Milwaukee voucher program and 2r charters in Milwaukee is at least $36 million. [2011 Assembly Bill 40]

Just because private schools are against the "liberal" philosophy, is not a reason to prevent parents from making a choice for their children. Some students do better in a different environment.

raystone: Vouchers don't work. Stats show it. The students that go to private schools do the same as public in testing or worse. Name one school district that has shown where voucher students due better over the years... Also, taking money from public schools weakens them. How do they get better with less funding? What do you get? A Walker/Ryan/Randian rich great schools or poor, failing schools. That is unAmerican.

Thanks to Mike Ellis for protecting public schools. They work for local taxpayers, not religious schools or private businesses.

jqpublic

Not too long ago, your description of Janesville was "clueless". I must be living in the right community.

I probably already have seen you, in your orange recall shirt, screaming at the top of your lungs in the Capitol.

wislady: I would love to meet you! You're clueless and don't even realize it.

Liberals, take off your tinfoil hats. School competition is simply a long held conservative position that produces better education for all children, including raising scores in non choice schools. http://watchdog.org/53875/wi-better-choi...

It's about the kids, and giving the best education possible. Sometimes, that can not happen in some of the public schools.

How much are private schools to attend? How much are these vouchers? Can a poor or average family still afford to send their kid or kids to a private school even with a voucher. I suspect that very few can. That leads me to suspect that the voucher system is a nice entitlement program for the well off that can afford to send their kids to a private school. I suspect as well that the vast majority of the private schools are religious schools. It troubles me that my tax money gets directly funneled into a religious enterprise. Where is the separation of church and state?

It's really telling that Walker wanted to shut down unions because of their political spending, but has no problem with the private education lobby giving money coming from taxpayers into his campaign. He may be a college dropout, but he knows which side his bread is buttered on.

Why do these fools want to expand what has a 20 year record of failure? Who wants our tax money now? Once they were forced to test the same as the public schools in Milwaukee the truth was out. Just another boondoggle.

Wis"lady" needs to stop drinking the tea. Walker is talking about expanding the program so that public tax dollars can be shunted away from public schools to privately run (by Walker supporters) schools. By defunding the public schools he creates failure in the public schools, so he can expand his private schools even further.

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One should also note that "voucher" school in Milwaukee yield no better results than their public counterparts - despite being able to "cherry pick" the best students. So one could make a reasonable case that, in fact, students fare worse in those private schools.

It looks like Senator Ellis is not a member of ALEC.
Good for him, and, even better for Wisconsin!

Good idea. Why do we want to State telling each city what to do? I thought the Republicans were all about local control and less centralized government from afar.

Walker is talking about expanding the program, so that parents can choose the best choice for their children.

Let's do away with public education. We don't ned no edukaction. We ll al be wirking some menial jobe makin miminiummin wadge anwaye.