St. Marcus, a private voucher school, wants to buy Lee
Elementary, a public school. The decision comes before Milwaukee’s Common
Council in coming weeks.
Taxpayer funding of private schools raises any number of
problems. But this particular controversy rests on one essential question:
Should public policy promote discrimination, in particular
discrimination against gay people and women?
Last week, supporters of democracy and equality won a
well-deserved victory when a federal judge overturned Wisconsin’s ban on gay
marriage. The victory was the culmination of decades of struggle, with
supporters of gay marriage often dismissed or criticized in the early years.
The controversy over St. Marcus raises similar issues of
equality versus discrimination. Will politicians who support gay marriage have
the courage to say “no” to the sale of Lee Elementary to St. Marcus?
ESSENTIAL BACKGROUND
St. Marcus is a private voucher school that is connected
with St. Marcus Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is part of the conservative
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran synod. The synod’s core beliefs include:
- Homosexuality is a sin
- Living together outside of marriage is a sin
- Women are not to hold positions of authority over men. (The St. Marcus School Council is appointed by the church’s all-male board of directors, and the school council chair must be a male. Women are not allowed to vote for the church’s board of directors.)
As a religious-based school, St. Marcus and its teachers are
expected to defend and promote the synod’s beliefs.
If the Common Council approves the sale of Lee Elementary to
St. Marcus, the voucher school hopes to enroll an additional 850 students who
will be taught the synod’s beliefs. An estimated $5 million more per year in taxpayer dollars will be used to promote
the synod’s beliefs.
This is the question the Common Council faces. Will it
approve the sale to St. Marcus, knowing that it is thus using public policy to
promote and expand publicly funded discrimination?
Or will council members do the right thing and say “no” to
publicly funded discrimination?
RELIGIOUS FREEOM
VERSUS DISCRIMINATION
Let me make it clear. This is not a question of religious
freedom. I was raised Lutheran (in a more liberal synod) and my wife was raised
Catholic. We have any number of relatives who disagree with our beliefs, and we
disagree with theirs. It’s no problem. We all respect religious freedom.
St. Marcus should be free to promote its religious views.
But not with taxpayer dollars and a public policy stamp of approval.
The Milwaukee voucher program was set up by the state
legislature and Milwaukee voters have never had a chance to vote on this
controversial program. This is a chance for the Common Council to defend
democracy and equality and say “no” to policies of discrimination.
PUBLIC DOLLARS SHOULD
BE USED TO EDUCATE ALL CHILDREN
The voucher schools’ ability to discriminate against gay
people and women is part of larger problems. To name just a few:
- Private voucher schools do not have to adhere to open meetings and records requirements. (Public schools do.)
- Private voucher schools, unlike public schools, do not have to educate all children. Unlike public schools, they do not have to provide ELL or bilingual education. Unlike public schools, they do not have to provide all needed special education students. Unlike public schools, they can expel or suspend students at will, with no constitutional protections of due process and free speech.
- Private voucher schools, unlike public schools, do not have to adhere to Wisconsin law that prohibits discrimination against students on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital or parental status.
Over the years, private voucher schools have drained more
than $1.3 billion in taxpayer dollars from public schools. Due to funding cuts,
public schools have been forced to reduce art, music, physical education and
libraries, and have drastically enlarged class size.
Voucher schools have been used to privatize, defund and
dismantle the Milwaukee Public Schools — even though MPS is the only
institution in the city with the capacity, commitment and legal obligation to
educate all children.
All these controversies swirl around the proposed sale of
Lee Elementary to St. Marcus.
Voucher supporters are adept at framing the program in
rhetoric of “choice.” But with the current controversy over the sale of Lee Elementary
to St. Marcus, there is no escaping this fundamental question:
Should public policy and taxpayer dollars promote discrimination?
If you believe so, then vote for the sale. But be clear: that is what your vote
means.
But if you believe that public policy should defend
democracy and safeguard equality, the choice is clear. Say “no” and don’t sell
Lee Elementary to St. Marcus.
