DPI Cracks Down on Vouchers

Almost 15% of the applicants for Milwaukee's private school voucher program this year may lose state funding because they do not comply with state rules.

The Department of Public Instruction last week told 18 applicants to the voucher program they would not receive state funds unless they complied with new state rules.

DPI officials said rules that took effect in August require the agency to make sure applicants provide the required 875 hours of instruction to meet the definition of a private school. The rules also require schools to comply with local building occupancy requirements.

The agency last week rejected three applications for the program because they didn't provide 875 hours of instruction.

Nine other applicants were told they will not receive state payments unless they prove they meet the definition of private school and provide the required curriculum in six basic subjects.

Another six applicants were told they were in danger of not receiving state funding because they did not have occupancy permits or failed to refund state overpayments from last year.

"This latest news confirms our fears about the voucher program," WEAC President Terry Craney said. "Voucher schools are not accountable to the taxpayers who provide funding; we know nothing about how students are faring academically; and some of the schools seem to believe they are above the law. The public has a right to know how its money is being spent."

Craney said the most disturbing case was the disgruntled man who was fired as a teacher at one Milwaukee voucher school and then secured about 130 applications for students to attend his own school even though he had no business plan to operate it and no place to locate it.

He nearly collected $141,800 from the state to operate the non-existent school, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The only thing that stood between William J. Perry and the money was the lack of an occupancy permit from the city, the paper said.

Perry, who claims to have a PhD in metaphysics, named his "school" the Sensas-Utcha Institute for Holistic Learning. Perry claims he can read books simply by laying his hands on them.

"We are very concerned that the voucher program is an invitation to unscrupulous opportunists who see a chance to make a profit at the expense of children," Craney said. "These cases show the need for more regulation and oversight of the program if it is to continue."

Posted September 29, 2000