MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Taxpayer-funded payments to children choosing to attend private schools using a voucher will increase an estimated $217 in each of the next two years.
And they will continue to exceed per-student state aid payments for Wisconsin's public schools.
New estimates were prepared by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau and released Monday by Democrats opposed to the voucher program. T
he Fiscal Bureau numbers show that the average voucher payment for a K-8 student next year will be $7,540 and $8,186 for a high school student. That compares with $6,703 in per-student state aid sent to public schools.
Democratic critics of the voucher program said Monday they fear that increases in aid for public schools that Gov. Scott Walker proposed will be in jeopardy during Republican-controlled budget negotiations.