School choice divisions

I found that Erin Richard’s article on the expansion of school choice in rural Wisconsin to cover students enrolled in religious schools raised the likely possibility of rural communities becoming divided over the Republican expansion of the school choice program statewide (“Growing pains,” March 22).

The article documents how this voucher expansion will be polarizing communities as voucher advocates challenge the quality of the education that students are getting in the local school system and question the commitment of the local public school staff.

State funding is not adequate to support two separate school systems. We can expect that the school choice political operatives will run pro-choice slates of school board candidates against local board members who might question the diverting of even more local public school funds to choice schools. This has happened as the Milwaukee School Choice program was implemented.

These districts also can expect lawsuits from the right-wing Wisconsin Institute of Law & Liberty if the demands of choice advocates are not met. This organization now has a federal court case demanding that Milwaukee Public Schools pay for busing of all students in choice schools (“St. Joan Antida sues MPS over busing,” March 23).

It is very unfortunate the Republican Party is infusing the conflict associated with the current ideological political divide into our public schools.

Dick Marx Whitefish Bay