A non-profit group with a history of helping low-income children attend private schools said Wednesday it will provide $500,000 in "emergency support" to 12 schools that applied for the school choice program but were denied funding by the state weeks after classes had begun.

Partners Advancing Values in Education will award $1,000 scholarships for about 500 children so their education won't be disrupted while their schools attempt to resolve application disputes with the DPI, said Daniel McKinley, PAVE's executive director.

PAVE's scholarship drive comes a week after the state Department of Public Instruction informed nine choice school applicants they would not get funding unless they could prove by Sept. 28 that they are private schools that meet the required minimum of 875 hours of instruction and provide the required curriculum in six basic subjects.

Three other applicants were told they were ineligible for funding this year because they don't provide the minimum hours of instruction and thus don't meet the definition of a private school.

The money from PAVE is seen as a stopgap measure that willhelp the schools make their payrolls until the matter can beresolved with DPI officials, McKinley said. PAVE plans to meet with them today.

Scholarships will be distributed in two installments of $500 each. The first round of checks could be issued as soon as Friday, with the final installment being made in January, McKinley said.

Tricia Collins, who oversees the choice program for the DPI, said Wednesday that once the state can verify that the nine schools meet the private school definition, they will get their funding.

The three schools that the state determined to be ineligible for funds plan to appeal or have already appealed.

Bob Soldner, the DPI's director of school management services, said if those schools send additional information that shows they meet the required instructional hours, he would be willing to review their cases with state superintendent John Benson.

The schools last week received certified letters from Benson telling them their funding would be withheld.

PAVE representatives visited the schools and talked with their leaders before making a decision to help them, McKinley said.

Officials with the schools said they were caught off guard by the state's decision.

Classes had been in session for weeks, and the applicants were expecting to receive their first of four installment payments from the state last week. Schools participating in the choice program receive $5,326 per pupil this year from the state.

They said the state's move was politically motivated.

But Soldner said: "There is no political motivation here."

He said the Legislature put new rules into effect Aug. 1, and the DPI was following those rules.

It's not the first time PAVE has stepped in to help students attend private schools.

In 1995, PAVE received national attention for raising $3.5 million to provide scholarships for 4,300 students who had applied to participate in the choice program when it was expanded to include religious schools.

Those students became ineligible for school vouchers when the expansion was halted by a state Supreme Court injunction.

Enacted in 1990, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program allows low-income students in Milwaukee to attend participating private schools at taxpayer expense.

Religious schools finally began participating in the program in 1998, after the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the state's 1995 expansion of the program.

There were 114 applicants for the choice program this year. A large majority of schools participating have complied with state regulations. The program has about 10,000 children enrolled this school year.

Founded in 1992, PAVE existed primarily to help low-income students attend private and religious schools before Milwaukee's expanded school choice program took effect.

Since then, PAVE, 1434 W. State St., has served as a clearinghouse of information for participating schools and as a resource for state officials administering the program.

PAVE also has helped private schools expand and has assisted pupils who no longer are eligible for the choice program because their families' incomes have increased. Since 1992, PAVE has provided about $22 million in scholarships.

Two weeks ago, the DPI threatened to withhold funding from six other applicants - four because they did not have the required occupancy permits to show their buildings meet health and safety codes for schools and two for failing to refund to the state overpayments they received last year.

Sending the DPI a copy of the occupancy permit is a new requirement this year.

Collins said three of the four schools have sent in temporary occupancy permits.

Two of the three schools have received their funding, but one must still wait until DPI verifies that it meets the private school definition.

Another school, Sensas-Utcha Institute of Holistic Learning, 2470 W. Keefe Ave., has not sent in the permit and will not receive funding.

The two applicants that owed the state refunds have paid them.

Here are the 12 schools that will share $500,000 in temporary aid from Partners Advancing Values in Education.

Sherman Park Preschool, 2703 N. Sherman Blvd.

Zebaoth Learning Center, 615 W. Melvina St.

Harbor Cross School, 4022 N. 27th St.

Ceria M. Travis Academy, 2733 W. Wisconsin Ave.

Early View Academy of Excellence, 4300 N. Green Bay Ave.

Grace Preparatory School of Excellence, 4365 N. 27th St.

Gregory B. Flood Christian Academy, 4260 N. Teutonia Ave.

Immanuel Christian Academy, 2009 S. 19th St.

Kindergarten Plus, 3201 N. 40th St.

Lakeshore Montessori School, 1841 N. Prospect Ave.

Louis Tucker Academy, 331 S. 68th St.

Stepping Stone Learning Center, 4960 N. 18th St.