Fond Du Lac Times

A win in the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election by candidate Janet Protasiewicz could jeopardize the scholarships of 2,272 Dodge County students studying in 15 private schools.

A Fond Du Lac Times analysis of Wisconsin Department of Instruction data found 2,272 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 Court, 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 Fond Du Lac Times. "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 $7.5 million in vouchers for 2,272 Dodge County students attending private schools.

Dodge County has the seventh 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.

School	Type	City	County	# Students	Funding
Luther Preparatory School	Lutheran	Watertown	Dodge	407	$1.4 million
Central Wisconsin Christian School	Christian	Waupun	Dodge	382	$1.6 million
Peace Lutheran School	Lutheran	Hartford	Dodge	246	$449,922
Saint John's Lutheran School	Lutheran	Watertown	Dodge	231	$345,070
Saint Katharine Drexel School	Catholic	Beaver Dam	Dodge	159	$419,950
Calvary Baptist Christian School	Christian	Watertown	Dodge	146	$793,706
Trinity St. Luke's Lutheran School	Lutheran	Watertown	Dodge	139	$541,454
Saint John's Lutheran School	Lutheran	Mayville	Dodge	136	$418,270
Good Shepherd Lutheran School	Lutheran	Watertown	Dodge	118	$601,582
Saint John's Lutheran School	Lutheran	Lomira	Dodge	70	$184,778
Saint Kilian School	Catholic	Hartford	Dodge	66	$88,190
Maranatha Baptist Academy	Baptist	Watertown	Dodge	64	$253,260
Bethany Lutheran School	Lutheran	Hustisford	Dodge	49	$222,574
Saint Stephen Lutheran School	Lutheran	Horicon	Dodge	49	$92,389
Saint Mary School	Catholic	Mayville	Dodge	10	$83,990