The news of a $100 million investment in a new school on metro Milwaukee’s north side by St. Augustine Preparatory Academy, a school participating in Wisconsin’s pioneering school choice program, puts a number on a development predicted last summer.
After the Ramirez Family Foundation bought the campus of the just-closed Cardinal Stritch University with the aim of building a new northern campus for the fast-growing choice school, Ramirez said the foundation couldn’t have justified investing for growth had the Legislature and governor not agreed to substantially increase the state’s per-pupil funding for school choice to a sustainable level, a historic legislative victory the Badger Institute helped achieve.
The bargain struck between legislative leaders and the governor ensures the financial sustainability of the school choice and charter school programs.
“This is good day for Wisconsin, and for anyone who cares about our children — parents who want more power over their kids’ education, teachers who work so hard, and school administrators who have long worried about sustainability,” said Badger Institute President Mike Nichols. “Kudos to the governor and legislative leaders. They should be commended. A child is a child is a child, no matter where he or she goes to school. Every child should have equal value, and this deal goes a long way toward recognizing that essential truth.”
