Most voucher students came from private schools

5-percent of Aquinas Catholic School system students received school voucher

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — About five-percent of the students in the Aquinas Catholic School system are there thanks to a school voucher.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction released the numbers on Thursday. The data shows that just over 19 percent of the 538 students who entered the statewide program this year attended a public school last year.

The state started the program last year that lets families apply for state funding in order to send their student to a private school. This year Aquinas has 48 students through the voucher program.

The vouchers have been a point of controversy. Supporters say it’s a way to help students get out of poorly performing public schools.

However, numbers released Thursday show under 20-percent of the students using the voucher program came from a public school. That’s fueling arguments from opponents that the program is subsidizing private schools.