A rationing plan for seats in Milwaukee’s controversial private school voucher plan will be imposed for next year, the state Department of Public Instruction said today.

DPI administrators sent a letter to the 130 schools that take part in the program and notified key players in setting policy for the voucher schools that the rationing will be necessary because the program will clearly exceed its cap set by state law. That cap is expected to be about 14,500 students for next year, a figure based on 15% of the enrollment in Milwaukee Public Schools.

The announcement by DPI is likely to add urgency to an issue that has been building for several years over the future of the voucher program. Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle and Republican legislative leaders have not had meaningful negotiation on compromises on the issue, even as both sides have said they were willing to talk and that something has to be done about the voucher cap.

Private schools in Milwaukee face a Feb.1 deadline for applying to be part of the program for next year and are working on plans being made by both public and private schools in the city for next year. The main enrollment period for Milwaukee Public Schools begins Jan. 9.

Evers said a solution needs to come soon. “Within the next couple months would be reasonable; within the next couple weeks would be great,” he said. Evers said an agreement between the governor and legislature was the best route. He said if the DPI’s rationing plan goes into effect, it could cause an unknown number of children to switch schools or be unable to enroll in schools they want to go to.

In November, Doyle proposed a plan for Milwaukee school issues including lifting the voucher cap to 18% and putting more accountability requirements on the private schools in the program. Republican legislators labeled his move a political ploy.