Milwaukee's Choice Program

By Tyshawna Jackson

Attending school is very expensive, and it is even more so depending upon the school. Milwaukee’s Choice Program has provided educational alternatives to many students whose parents cannot quite afford to pay for their education.

If the applicant for the Choice Program is approved, the student is able to get a full education that provides everything the student will need. This is extremely helpful to most students especially when school tuitions are around $5,000-$7,000 dollars for one school year which may include lunches and field trips.

Governor Jim Doyle has been known to want to end the Choice Program. This may be a good idea from taxpayers’ viewpoints, but this would greatly affect Messmer students.

Vernet Hale, sophomore, believes: “It is bad to end the Choice Program because it takes away from people that have to pay for more than one child. Even though I pay $2 for lunch, I still feel the pain for the ones that don’t pay and will soon have to.”
There are a number of upsetting reasons that would go with the elimination of Choice funding. Private schools would lose a lot of money, and public schools would soon be filled to the brim with student and probably gain some profits.

Junior, Michael Wright states “Because I have to pay for my education, I really don’t care if they end it or not.” When paying thousands of dollars for school, one may feel like this. They are entitled to their own opinion.

Freshman, Mujjada Ahmad, voices her opinion, “You shouldn’t have to pay for education, which should be free.”

Stressful public school situations may occur if more students are pushed into public schools. Public schools are great for some students, but private schools typically have smaller class sizes and may have more extra curricular activities. Senior Ryan Williams, “For the most part, a lot of people are on the Choice Program, and it would negatively affect them. Most importantly it would affect private schools.”

The opinions of both sides need understanding and should be strongly taken into consideration. The ending of the Choice Program would be a negative, but it may also become a positive thing. Theology teacher, Ms. Donna Eddy, believes both sides would win in a debate. “[The Choice Program] gives people who are not rich an opportunity to make the same choices that rich people do as to where their child or children can get the best education. It also allows for healthy competition which encourages both private and public schools to get better.”