DPI Withholds Payments from Seven Milwaukee Voucher Schools

The state's Department of Public Instruction is withholding approximately $2 million in payments from seven voucher schools that are suspected of financial misconduct or failure to comply with state rules, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Wednesday (December 1, 2004).

DPI has withheld $1.3 million from the Academic Solutions Center for Learning because of discrepancies between the school's reported enrollment and attendance reports. The school, one of the largest participants in Milwaukee's private school voucher program, reported to the state in September that it had enrolled 734 voucher-eligible students.

District officials of Milwaukee Public Schools, which has some authority over private schools that receive federal Title 1 funding, visited the school because the school's attendance sheets showed that only about 560 voucher-eligible students were attending classes. The district also reported that the school collected September voucher payments for 35 students who were also enrolled in MPS.

DPI makes payments to voucher schools in installments. For the first payment in September, the department issues checks to the schools payable to the families of enrolled students. The second payment is made in November.

Voucher schools must return the state's September checks for students who do not attend the school. DPI alleges that the Academic Solutions Center for Learning, Catholic East Elementary School, Excel Learning Academy and Louis Tucker Elementary School failed to do so, said DPI Communications Officer Joe Donovan.

Donovan said DPI withheld payments for three other vouchers schools because they failed to comply with state rules. Milwaukee School of Choice did not submit a city occupancy certificate as required, and New Testament Academy did not submit a revised budget to the DPI by the deadline. Saint Thomas Aquinas Academy failed to file other required financial information with the DPI.

New rules in place since the summer require voucher schools to submit budgets and other financial information to the state. The rules are intended to increase accountability in the voucher program.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article
Resource page on private school vouchers

Posted December 1, 2004