After more than a week of negotiations, an agreement to keep Wisconsin's virtual schools open has been reached.
Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, chairman of the Assembly Education Committee, announced the compromise Monday along with Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
The Assembly voted 96-1 Tuesday night to approve the bill. The Senate is expected to pass the bill later this week, and Doyle said he would sign it into law.
The compromise does what it is supposed to do. It allows each side of the virtual school debate, both in government and outside of it, to get a little of what they wanted by giving something else up.
Most importantly, the compromise will keep Monroe's and Wisconsin's other 11 virtual schools operating.
It also illustrates that differing sides can come together for the betterment of everyone involved.
The compromise calls for an elimination of a proposed two-year enrollment freeze, an item included in the virtual school bill passed by the state Senate.
The compromise raises the enrollment cap in public virtual schools in Wisconsin to 5,250. Current enrollment is 3,500, which is where the Senate bill froze enrollment for three years. The Assembly bill allowed an enrollment cap of 1 percent of the statewide student population, or about 8,760 students.
The agreement also allows siblings of virtual school students to be guaranteed the opportunity to enroll, regardless of the cap.
The compromise is fine, for now. It allows virtual school enrollment to continue to grow, while providing time for a state audit to determine the quantitative value of online education. The state's teachers union says it wants evidence that virtual schools are as valid of an educational option as traditional bricks-and-mortar schools are. An audit can provide that answer.
But if virtual schools continue to grow at the pace they are now, the cap of 5,250 students will be reached within a few years. Lawmakers and educators must be committed to revisiting the compromise before that day arrives.
For now, virtual school legislation seems headed for passage. The agreement also has the support of the Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual School Families (WCVSF) and the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC).
WEAC President Mary Bell praised the Legislature for its compromise on virtual schools, but she implored them to get to work at the start of next legislative session on an even bigger problem.
"Let's make school funding reform the first issue we take up ..." Bell said, referring to the more than 40 school districts that are going to referendum in April to attempt to override caps "that are driving them to bankruptcy."
Bell said one-quarter of Wisconsin's school districts have reported they may be forced to close or consolidate because of revenue caps.
"All members of the Legislature must put school funding reform at the top of their agendas if we are to find our way out of the school funding crisis."
We agree. The Legislature showed Tuesday that they could reach a middle ground, for the benefit of everyone. We challenge them to do it again regarding school funding.
Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, chairman of the Assembly Education Committee, announced the compromise Monday along with Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
The Assembly voted 96-1 Tuesday night to approve the bill. The Senate is expected to pass the bill later this week, and Doyle said he would sign it into law.
The compromise does what it is supposed to do. It allows each side of the virtual school debate, both in government and outside of it, to get a little of what they wanted by giving something else up.
Most importantly, the compromise will keep Monroe's and Wisconsin's other 11 virtual schools operating.
It also illustrates that differing sides can come together for the betterment of everyone involved.
The compromise calls for an elimination of a proposed two-year enrollment freeze, an item included in the virtual school bill passed by the state Senate.
The compromise raises the enrollment cap in public virtual schools in Wisconsin to 5,250. Current enrollment is 3,500, which is where the Senate bill froze enrollment for three years. The Assembly bill allowed an enrollment cap of 1 percent of the statewide student population, or about 8,760 students.
The agreement also allows siblings of virtual school students to be guaranteed the opportunity to enroll, regardless of the cap.
The compromise is fine, for now. It allows virtual school enrollment to continue to grow, while providing time for a state audit to determine the quantitative value of online education. The state's teachers union says it wants evidence that virtual schools are as valid of an educational option as traditional bricks-and-mortar schools are. An audit can provide that answer.
But if virtual schools continue to grow at the pace they are now, the cap of 5,250 students will be reached within a few years. Lawmakers and educators must be committed to revisiting the compromise before that day arrives.
For now, virtual school legislation seems headed for passage. The agreement also has the support of the Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual School Families (WCVSF) and the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC).
WEAC President Mary Bell praised the Legislature for its compromise on virtual schools, but she implored them to get to work at the start of next legislative session on an even bigger problem.
"Let's make school funding reform the first issue we take up ..." Bell said, referring to the more than 40 school districts that are going to referendum in April to attempt to override caps "that are driving them to bankruptcy."
Bell said one-quarter of Wisconsin's school districts have reported they may be forced to close or consolidate because of revenue caps.
"All members of the Legislature must put school funding reform at the top of their agendas if we are to find our way out of the school funding crisis."
We agree. The Legislature showed Tuesday that they could reach a middle ground, for the benefit of everyone. We challenge them to do it again regarding school funding.
