Conversation about educational choice is often polarizing. Fueled by strong feelings, long-held beliefs, system loyalties and financial realities, discussions often transform into a debate pitting traditional public schools against choice and charter options. Drill down a bit, and dialog most often centers on two issues. The first, the importance to children, families, and to the community of ensuring our young people have access to a high-quality education that prepares them for their future. The second is the financial impact on schools who lose children to other options in a system where funding follows the student.

Historically, Beloit families with means have had access to private parochial schools. Over the past few decades access to educational options have expanded for all families, including families with fewer financial resources.

• Open enrollment, which essentially means moving from one traditional public school district to another, is by far the largest choice program in Beloit and in Wisconsin as a whole. The program has grown consistently since its implementation in 1989 expanding from just over 9,500 students in the early years to more than 41,000 in the current school year.
• Rock County Christian School, a private parochial middle-high school expanded access through its participation in the Wisconsin School Choice program. The choice program allows families with incomes below 200% of poverty to qualify for a voucher to cover the cost of tuition.
• The Lincoln Academy, a public 2x independent charter school, opened in 2021 and will offer a full K12 option by the 2024-25 school year. As public schools, independent charter schools are tuition-free.
• Our Lady of Assumption just announced they too will participate in the Wisconsin School Choice program beginning in the fall of 2024 extending their reach to a wider breadth of families.
• Some parents, especially since covid, are choosing to homeschool their children. These families receive no public support to cover the cost of educating their children.

Parents care about school quality. While clearly imperfect, report cards offer parents a tangible way of measuring how their schools are doing and provide evidence about how their children are doing. The growth in open enrollment in the region would suggest these measures matter, parents are paying attention and selecting schools with stronger outcomes.

There is also emerging evidence demonstrating that the availability of options can improve academic outcomes for more children in the city. The 2022-2023 School Report Cards most recently released by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction provided a rating for both Rock County Christian School and The Lincoln Academy of 4 of 5 stars, defined as Exceeds Expectations. Rock County Christian has received a 4-star ranking in 5 of 6 years the school was ranked. This is The Lincoln Academy’s first report card with a ranking. Academic growth is the main driver of this rating for both schools, who draw students primarily from Beloit. And while growth is critical, a deeper dive into state data shows that 3rd grade scholars at The Lincoln Academy exceeded state proficiency rates in both reading and math, a measure that offers hope for what is possible for Beloit children.

As to the finances, it is true that revenues go down in school districts that are losing students. When parents and students choose another district, a parochial school, homeschooling or a charter, the revenues (or in some cases a portion of the revenues) for that student either follow the student or leave the community altogether. And while the state offers temporary funding cushions like the 3-year rolling average for traditional districts, the fact remains, schools losing students have to make the changes needed to right-size or take the steps necessary to better compete for local students and increase enrollment. These can be challenging decisions.

However, one of the rarely noted dynamics at play in the world of school finance is that choice and charter options also diversify and expand local investments in education. Similar to traditional districts, per pupil state aid is almost never sufficient to meet all the educational needs of a student. Yet, unlike traditional public schools, choice and charter schools cannot levy property taxes to make up the difference and virtually every one of those schools balance their budgets through private support. For many choice schools this may be the support of a sponsoring organization such as a church that subsidizes the work, or as is the case for The Lincoln Academy, with grants and private philanthropy.

The Hendricks Family Foundation and our founder, Diane Hendricks, have made significant educational investments here in Beloit. Our goals are to bring more options to children and families, to improve academic outcomes, to extend learning beyond the classroom and to seed innovation. We want to germinate employer – student partnerships and expose our young people to the infinite possibilities their futures can hold. While investment in The Lincoln Academy is by far the most significant, programming through Hendricks CareerTek is enhancing career exploration and experiences for students throughout the region including tailored offerings to students at Rock County Christian School, Clinton Community, Beloit, and South Beloit School Districts, and to a growing number of homeschool families. Modest support for Rock County Christian School and even programming at the Welty Environmental Center, extend our education investments even further.

We believe in parent choice and yes, we believe there can be a benefit to competition. We sometimes say, we are agnostic when it comes to schools…it does not matter which school it is as long as it is a good one. There is after all, no greater opportunity for a child than the one provided through a good education. We intend to continue our efforts to ensure that this opportunity is available for the children of Beloit.

One Note: A frequently cited misconception in Beloit is that the Beloit School District would be better off financially if The Lincoln Academy were a private school that was fully funded by private dollars. Assuming the school served all the same children, the result of this decision would be a loss of overall educational funding in the community. Similar to children that are homeschooled, or attending a parochial school, the district would not be funded for children they are not serving nor would the Lincoln Academy. The funding for those students would ultimately go to serve children in other communities.