Catholic Memorial Wants to Join State Voucher Program

Catholic Memorial High School is looking to offer seats to students via the state’s expanded private school voucher program.

Students who previously could not afford tuition at Catholic Memorial can begin attending classes as freshmen and sophomores in the 2013-14 school year, according to a news release from the school.

“Our Board of Directors unanimously agreed to participate in this program,” said the Very Rev. Paul B.R. Hartmann, president of Catholic Memorial High School. “This fits our mission to serve.”

While Catholic Memorial wants to participate in the voucher program that was extended to 500 low-income students in the 2013-15 meeting, it still faces competition from other private schools. Twenty-five schools will be given students through the private school voucher program, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

If Catholic Memorial is approved as a voucher school, the Waukesha School District could see a decline in high school enrollment.

"I would guess we may lose some students to CMH," Superintendent Todd Gray told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "The statewide cap is 500 for this next year, so I'm estimating there will be a fairly large amount of students statewide that will be vying for a voucher and end up on a waiting list."