A win in the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election by candidate Janet Protasiewicz could jeopardize the scholarships of 1,081 Fon du Lac County students studying in eight private schools.
A Fond Du Lac Times analysis of Wisconsin Department of Instruction data found 1,081 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 $5.1 million in vouchers for 1,081 Fon du Lac County students attending private schools.
Fon du Lac County has the 14th 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winnebago Lutheran Academy | Lutheran | Fon du Lac | Fon du Lac | 319 | $1.2 million |
| Faith Lutheran School | Lutheran | Fon du Lac | Fon du Lac | 245 | $801,725 |
| Saint Pauls Lutheran School | Lutheran | Mount Calvary | Fon du Lac | 140 | $235,172 |
| Fond du Lac Christian School | Christian | Fon du Lac | Fon du Lac | 109 | $588,575 |
| Redeemer Lutheran Grade School | Lutheran | Fon du Lac | Fon du Lac | 80 | $314,963 |
| Saint Lukes Lutheran School | Lutheran | Oakfield | Fon du Lac | 80 | $302,364 |
| Saint Mary's Springs Academy | Catholic | Fon du Lac | Fon du Lac | 59 | $1.6 million |
| Holyland Catholic School | Catholic | Malone | Fon du Lac | 49 | $83,990 |
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