Schools will maintain ability to control labor costs and invest in students
The children of Wisconsin were big winners Tuesday night.
That’s because voters in four state senate districts rejected efforts to remove their senators from office. All four of those senators supported Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill, which limited collective bargaining privileges for public school employees.
That means Republicans will remain in control of the state Senate and opponents will not be able to sustain any serious effort to revoke the budget repair bill, known as Act 10.
Act 10 has been a huge success for many public schools around the state. It has allowed school boards to curtail runaway labor costs, balance their budgets, cancel plans to lay off teachers and preserve student programs, despite cuts in K-12 aid from the state.
Before Act 10, Wisconsin public schools were in a horrific financial position. They were facing large cuts in state aid, and many had to deal with local unions that refused to make financial concessions to help them save money.
Many schools were a lso pressured by local unions into purchasing expensive WEA Trust health insurance, which further depleted their funds. WEA Trust is a company established by and closely associated with the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state’s largest teachers unions.
Act 10 allowed school boards to cut labor and insurance costs without union approval. That has allowed many districts to save millions of dollars for the coming academic year.
Obviously the majority of people voting Tuesday recognized the success of Walker’s bill and decided to allow the governor and his party to maintain control of state government. That may be disappointing for the special interest teachers unions, but it’s very good news for public school students.
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