Wisconsin Democrats want higher pay, end of Act 10 to maintain teachers

(The Center Square) – The latest plan from Democrats at the Wisconsin Capitol to “maintain Wisconsin’s education workforce” would see an end to Act 10 and a lot more money from the state.

State Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, unveiled a package of legislation that he says would help keep teachers in the state’s classrooms, as well as attract new teachers to the profession.

“It’s important to invest in our educators, to invest in our students,” Larson told reporters at the statehouse on Monday.

Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin have tried to kill Act 10 since Gov. Scott Walker signed the law in 2011. This package of legislation is no different.

“In the long term, the solution lies in state school funding that meets the needs of all students. And a change in the law that makes it legal again for educators to negotiate with their employers,” Wisconsin Education Association Council President Peggy Wirtz Olsen said.

ACT 10 limited WEAC and other teachers’ unions in Wisconsin to negotiating over salaries only. Supporters say Act 10 has saved state and local taxpayers nearly $14 billion over the past decade.

Larson’s plan to increase teacher pay would tie paychecks for teachers to paychecks for state lawmakers.

“The average starting teaching salary in the state of Wisconsin is just a hair above $39,000, whereas the average legislative salary is always above $50,000,” Larson said.

A report last spring from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and 24/7 Wall St. said the average teacher salary in Wisconsin was just over $59,000.

Larson also wants to pay teachers a $7,000 bonus for every five years that they have been with their local school district.

None of the proposals are expected to go anywhere at the Capitol.

The Republicans who control both the Assembly and Senate are more focused on expanding school choice as a way to solve Wisconsin’s education woes.

Lawmakers are supposed to wrap up their business in Madison next month.

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