DPI numbers show public schools could do much better

Critics of school choice often lean on a talking point that goes like this: Wisconsin can’t afford two systems of schools, so we should have only one.

Of course the idea is nonsense. Wisconsin doesn’t fund two systems of schools. Wisconsin funds 420 public school districts. It funds about 2,200 public schools. It funds about 860,000 students, some 792,000 in traditional district schools and another 66,000 in about 400 private choice schools or several dozen independent public charters, with state money approximately following each from one school to another.

But taking those critics at face value, taxpayers might well ask: If we have to pick one system, districts or choice, why wouldn’t we pick the one that delivers better results for the money?

More realistically: Why can’t we demand better from the schools we have?

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