2017: Policy Decisions Lead to Severe Teacher Shortages

MADISON, Wis. – As lieutenant governor, Rebecca Kleefisch targeted Wisconsin’s public schools and universities, and through extreme legislation in 2011 and 2017, she also attacked our teachers, one of the reasons Wisconsin schools are so great.

By limiting teachers’ ability to negotiate their salaries and stripping their benefits, median salaries dropped and teachers left in droves at the end of the school year following the 2011 legislation.

By the 2015-2016 school year, “56% of school districts in northern Wisconsin faced ‘extreme shortages’ in hiring in instances analyzed, while 46% of districts in southern Wisconsin faced such a challenge.”

Even the right-wing Daily Caller agreed that the legislation left teachers “demoralized.”

In 2017, the Walker-Kleefisch administration worked to punish districts that didn’t comply with the 2011 legislation. Because the School District of Beloit tried to support teachers for example, they stood to lose roughly $4 million in state funding.

Worker shortages from Kleefisch and Walker’s war on teachers are still felt today.

 

Since taking office, Governor Evers has worked hard to make Wisconsin’s schools stronger and better than they were four years ago. Gov. Evers has increased funding for schools by restoring the state’s two-thirds funding commitment. He has proposed legislation that would return some negotiation ability back to teachers and invested money to recruit and train high-quality teachers in schools across the state.

 

“Rebecca Kleefisch’s thoughtless policies use kids as pawns as they suffer the consequences of lost funding and dire teacher shortages,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Rapid Response Director Hannah Menchhoff. “If elected, her radical war on public education will only hurt our schools and roll back the progress we have made under Gov. Evers.”

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