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Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Analysis: Protasiewicz win on state top court could doom scholarships for 3,977 Brown County students

Protasiewiczburch

A win in the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election by candidate Janet Protasiewicz could jeopardize the scholarships of 3,977 Brown County students studying in 17 private schools.

A Fox Cities News analysis of Wisconsin Department of Instruction data found 3,977 students receive scholarships for private schools. These vouchers could be on the chopping block if candidate Janet Protasiewicz wins the April 4 Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

Protasiewicz is supported by the Wisconsin Education Association Council, whose President Peggy Wirtz-Olsen has gone on record saying “private school vouchers…are bleeding our public schools dry” and that removing them would be a priority in a liberal-majority Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Clint Bolick, an Arizona State Supreme Court Justice who has represented Wisconsin school choice advocates, commented to the MacIver Institute that there will be "renewed attacks in court" to declare the school choice program unconstitutional if Protasiewicz is elected.

"If Left-wing extremists succeed in taking over the Wisconsin Supreme County, hundreds of thousands of vulnerable students will be at risk of losing access to the school of their choice," Brian Burch, CEO of Catholic Vote, told Fox Cities News. "We cannot afford to turn back the clock to the days when only wealthy families had the option of sending their children to schools they choose."

Wisconsin taxpayers fund $10.8 million in vouchers for 3,977 Brown County students attending private schools.

Brown County has the fifth highest number of students receiving vouchers in Wisconsin.

Across the state, private school students received slightly more than $444 million in vouchers in 2022-23, compared to the $17.9 billion spent on the public K-12 school system in 2021-22.

Enrollment and Scholarships in Brown County
SchoolTypeCityCounty# StudentsFunding
Green Bay Area Catholic Education SouthCatholicGreen BayBrown796$692,078
Notre Dame de la Baie AcademyCatholicGreen BayBrown727$2 million
Green Bay Area Catholic Education EastCatholicGreen BayBrown683$3.2 million
Green Bay Area Catholic Education WestCatholicGreen BayBrown501$893,654
Pilgrim Lutheran SchoolLutheranGreen BayBrown234$566,933
Saint Mark Lutheran SchoolLutheranGreen BayBrown191$640,332
Saint John Paul II Classical SchoolCatholicGreen BayBrown152$458,326
Northeastern Wisconsin Lutheran High SchoolLutheranGreen BayBrown148$370,845
Saint Paul Lutheran SchoolLutheranGreen BayBrown134$461,088
Green Bay Trinity Lutheran SchoolLutheranGreen BayBrown128$436,748
Morrison Zion Lutheran SchoolLutheranGreenleafBrown69$209,975
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary SchoolCatholicPulaskiBrown63$290,605
Saint John Evangelical Lutheran SchoolLutheranWrightstownBrown55$62,993
Saint Clare Catholic SchoolCatholicWrightstownBrown38$146,983
Green Bay Adventist Junior AcademyAdventistGreen BayBrown34$195,115
Zion Lutheran SchoolLutheranWaysideBrown19$159,581
All Saints Grade SchoolCatholicDenmarkBrownfive$41,995

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