The Wisconsin Legislature this week passed a budget, awaiting a signature from Gov. Scott Walker, that increases funding for charter schools and school voucher programs.
The following statements from education policy experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected].
“Wisconsin’s new budget, which expands school choice programs, is a big win for Wisconsin parents and taxpayers. The strategy of across-the-board expansion of choice accelerates the process of dismantling the inefficient ‘district-based’ system and the educational apartheid that system creates.”
Bruno Behrend
Senior Fellow
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“This budget shows Wisconsin legislators are taking improving education seriously. They are doing so by recognizing that throwing more money at a broken public education system in need of systemic change is not the answer. Implementing choice for families and changing funding mechanisms to provide additional educational opportunities can and will make a difference for families and students in the state. Wisconsin legislators deserve commendation for their efforts.”
Heather Kays
Research Fellow, The Heartland Institute
Managing Editor, School Reform News
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“The primary focus of education should be children, which the Wisconsin Legislature finally recognizes by adopting a fund-the-child approach over the funding-a-system approach.
“All children deserve access to quality education. Funding children and expanding education opportunities shows the Wisconsin Legislature finally recognizes a child’s need for individualized education is a higher priority than the system.”
Lennie Jarratt
Project Manager for School Reform
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
The Heartland Institute is a 31-year-old national nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our website or call 312/377-4000.
Bruno Behrend, J.D., is a senior fellow for education policy at The Heartland Institute.
Heather Kays is a policy advisor to The Heartland Institute and former managing editor of School Reform News, a national monthly publication.
Lennie Jarratt is the former director of the Center for Education Opportunities at The Heartland Institute
