Democratic candidates gathered for the Wisconsin Workers’ Forum for Governor on June 2, hosted by several unions. Former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, State Representative Francesca Hong, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Missy Hughes, Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez, and State Senator Kelda Roys participated.

The moderator asked extremely specific questions with follow-ups, shining new light on where candidates would take Wisconsin education.

Here is what the candidates said...

CHARTER SCHOOLS

Barnes, Crowley, Hong, Roys: Ensure only districts can charter schools.

(Currently, public charter schools can operate independently of school districts. In cases like Milwaukee and Wauwatosa, charter schools left districts to become autonomous due to district hostility. If policy changed, these charter schools would have to agree to be operated by school districts, convert to private schools, or close.)

Hong: Add a union member to the UW Board of Regents.

(UW oversees and decides whether to keep operating a number of Wisconsin charter schools, including Mill Creek Academy in Waukesha, Veritas Classical Academy in Chippewa Falls, and The Lincoln Academy in Beloit. Charter schools often are not unionized.)

PRIVATE SCHOOL CHOICE

Barnes, Hong, Roys: Fully end vouchers, including in Milwaukee, statewide, and for special-needs students.

(61,000 students use a voucher. 31,000 of them live in Milwaukee; 8,000 live in Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, Racine, or Appleton. 67% qualify for free/reduced-price lunch due to income. 48% of private-school students use a voucher.)

Crowley: Hold schools using parental choice to the exact same standards as district schools. Instead of ending parental choice, strengthen public schools. Districts would not be able to absorb the influx of students.

Hughes: Do not pick the voucher fight; pick the fully funded public schools fight. Encourage parents to choose district schools as their first option. Growing the economy, jobs, and families helps fill up public schools.

Rodriguez: Schools using parental choice must have the same standards as district schools. If students leave a choice school, the rest of the term’s funding should go to the school they attend. Parents should have to verify annually that their income qualifies for school choice rather than once.

(Some standards for Wisconsin private schools using parental choice include completing audits yearly, administering the same state tests, and using lotteries to accept students. 1% of Wisconsin voucher students leave the program during the year, whether to attend a public school or because they left the state. Many Wisconsin social programs and some parental choice programs like Ohio’s decrease benefits gradually based on income rather than creating sudden benefit cliffs.)

ACT 10

Barnes, Crowley, Hong, Hughes, Rodriguez, Roys: Repeal Act 10.

(Public-school membership organizations like Wisconsin Association of School Boards and Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials have said overturning Act 10 would cause educators to “be laid off” and “harm school district finances” unless Wisconsin raised taxes to increase school revenue. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty estimated the significant tax increases that would be imposed if Act 10 were repealed.)