Fight Erupts Over Way Wis. Pays for Vouchers

By Julie Blair

The Milwaukee voucher program has drawn fire for many reasons since its inception, and now debate has erupted over charges that the system used to pay for it is unfair.

Taxpayers in Eau Claire, Racine, Madison, and other communities throughout Wisconsin are sharing the burden of financing the program in concert with Milwaukee, sacrificing state aid and raising taxes to help cover 50 percent of the program's $49 million annual price tag, some critics say.

But, in an unusual twist, researchers add that some school districts are actually making money under the arrangement—thanks to quirks in the state's school funding system—while others are paying for the voucher effort...