Dear Editor:
“Free Tuition?” is the caption for an ad in a recent Shopper. The ad suggests students can attend a local private school at “no cost” through the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (WPCP). That is grossly misleading.
Quoting School Choice Wisconsin, January 8, 2026, “Taxpayers through school district budgets provide $10,877 for each K–8 voucher student and $13,371 for each voucher student in grades 9-12 who enrolls in one of the three voucher programs. Each student who participates in the Special Needs Scholarship Program receives $16,049.” That is only ½ the cost. The tuition for the school choice vouchers comes off the top of the local school district’s budgeted funds, leaving the local public school to operate with whatever money remains or raise taxes. State aid to public schools is based on an annual ‘headcount’ of students enrolled in public schools. If 5% of school age students in a district go to a private school they are not counted, resulting in the public schools losing a similar amount of state aid. Republican induced ‘caps’ on school spending has created an annual flurry of school bond issues across the state while causing Wisconsin’s public education system to fall in national ranking. To maintain high quality education, the local school district must make up the funds being drained away by the combined double punch of higher costs per student receiving school vouchers and more students enrolling in private schools.
As Wisconsinites compare their recently received property tax bill with the ones from five and 10 years ago, they will see the WPCP is not free. Vouchers reduce resources for the majority of students, those in public schools, for the direct benefit of a select few in private schools. They have the greatest negative impact on small rural schools. Additional concerns are: Private schools receiving vouchers are not required to do the same standardized testing as public schools, they are not subject to the same anti-discrimination laws, and they are more prone to waste, fraud and abuse.
The $10,877 voucher for K-8 or the $13,371 for 9-12 is only ½ the cost to the taxpayer. The total cost must include the amount of increased funding required to offset the expense of vouchers. The Wisconsin Parental Choice Program hurts our public schools, raises local taxes and is far from being free.

Bryce Luchterhand
Unity, WI