Beginning this fall, taxpayer money will help children move from public to private schools in Racine. But according to a nonpartisan group, expanding vouchers to Racine will add nearly $3 million to the state’s costs over the next two school years. Part three of three in a series.

Dozens of Wisconsin political players have received millions of dollars from individuals and interest groups committed to promoting alternatives to public schools. Part two of three in a series.

A vast and interconnected array of school choice proponents — including the Walton family, heirs to the Walmart fortune — is changing the face of education in Wisconsin. Part one of three in a series.

School choice proponents argue that private vouchers give students in troubled school districts the opportunity for a better education. But the numbers don’t always back them up.

Nearly four in 10 Wisconsin elementary students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch last school year, and the proportion of low-income elementary students has climbed every year of this decade, according to state Department of Public Instruction data analyzed by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.