A state hearing examiner has ruled that two Milwaukee private schools do qualify to be labeled as schools and should continue to receive state-funded voucher payments.

The state Department of Public Instruction acted in October to remove the two schools, Dr. Brenda Noach Choice School and L.E.A.D.E.R. Institute, from the program, saying they fell short of meeting the legal definition of a private school.

The two schools appealed, and the hearing examiner ruled that the Noach school uses a curriculum that meets legal requirements for showing it offers fundamental instruction in six subjects and that the L.E.A.D.E.R. school offers at least 875 hours of instruction a year. The DPI action was based on arguing the schools had failed to meet those points.

But L.E.A.D.E.R., 2200 N. King Drive, was not left completely in the clear. Its case for showing it met the minimum number of hours was based on having a year-round schedule, including days in the summer.

DPI officials told the school last week that it could not receive voucher payments for summer school in addition to regular school year payments. The DPI ordered the school to repay $59,430 it was paid for summer school in 2004, and it denied the school's request for summer payments for 2005. The school cannot get a voucher payment of $342,160 that has been held up since the end of November until it repays the $59,430, the DPI ruled. It also must repay about $70,000 that it was paid in September based on a preliminary student count that was later found to be high.

Henry Tyler, CEO of L.E.A.D.E.R., said he expects to appeal the summer school decision to a hearing examiner. "We think it's wrong and there's no precedent for it," he said.

Joe Donovan, spokesman for the DPI, said the Noach school, which is located in the same building as the Milwaukee Art Museum, should soon receive the state payment of $108,602 that was due in November.

Misunderstanding at Noach

Thomas Erickson, the attorney for the Noach school, said the problem began when school officials had misunderstood what they had to supply to the DPI officials.

DPI also has moved to stop voucher payments to a third school, Northside High School, based on a finding that it was not providing the minimum number of hours of instruction. The school has appealed, and a decision is pending.

Under the voucher program, private schools in Milwaukee can receive up to $6,351 per low-income student this year.