State Representative Fred Kessler (D-Milwaukee) is no friend of the Milwaukee school choice program and proved it again with a purely gratuitous move to reduce the enrollment cap for school choice students from 22,500 to 19,500. Readers will remember the fight to set the cap at 22,500, and how much heat Governor Doyle took. Now the question is, will Doyle be willing to take the heat again to throw 3,000 students out of the choice program?
Besides putting Doyle on the spot, if the provision passes the Assembly it will put State Senator Jeff Plale and State Senator Jim Sullivan on record, too. Especially with Sullivan, this is not the fight the Democrats want.
Even liberal blogger and MPS teacher Jay Bullock recognizes this was a bad political move by Kessler. I suspect that if it makes to Governor Doyle's desk, he'll veto the cap reduction.
Republicans can win on education issues, and moves like Kessler's are just more ammunition for an education reform agenda.
