Letter to the Editor: Question for Sen. Lasee

I am writing in response to Sen. Lasee’s sad lament in the Pulse. He stated that Act 10 saved the state five billion dollars in five years. That is a very impressive amount. I went to the MacIver Institute website (a conservative think tank) where Sen. Lasee found this number. Appleton was used as an example. In 2015, according to the MacIver Institute, the Appleton school district was expecting a $3 million savings from their new health insurance plan. However, for the 2015-2016 school year, Appleton would need to increase taxes to help fund the Parental Choice program.

If I understand this correctly, if 10 students choose to leave the Appleton school district, Appleton must reimburse the chosen voucher school for the 10 students. However, if any of these students return to the Appleton school district, the money stays with the voucher school permanently. How can this be? It seems to be a double whammy to the public schools and the taxpayers of Appleton.

Appleton has one opportunity to recoup some of this money. They are working on a referendum to help defray these losses. The clinker is that they may only hold one referendum, ever. None of this makes sense to me. Sen. Lasee, please enlighten me.

Colleen Malmen

Baileys Harbor, Wis.