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When Wisconsin governor Scott Walker signed a law curbing the power of public sector unions in his state in 2011, Democrats warned that public schools would suffer terribly. But one year after the law had taken effect--and in the midst of a recall campaign that was driven entirely by the backlash to the law--Democratic candidate Tom Barrett could not name a single school hurt by Walker's reforms.
When Mary Burke, the Democrat challenging Walker in 2014, was asked last month by THE WEEKLY STANDARD if she could name any schools hurt by Walker's reforms, she replied with an anecdote about just one:
“I am concerned about whether we are going to be able to attract and retain and keep good people in our schools,” she said. “And I do see this. A man I talked to not too long ago, Jim from Neenah, was telling me about his daughter who graduated from UW-Eau Claire in education. She had two job offers: one in a school district in Minnesota, one in her hometown of Neenah. Guess which one she’s taking?”
The superintendent that school is now calling Burke's story "unfair" and "misleading." In a September 19 letter, Superintendent Mary Pfeiffer asked Burke to cease and desist from telling the story (a spokesman for her campaign did not respond to an email from THE WEEKLY STANDARD asking if Burke would honor the request):
It is unfair and misleading to claim that Act 10 is the primary reason why one specific candidate chose to accept a position in Minnesota over an opening in the Neenah Joint School District. There are many reasons why candidates choose to work in other districts and certainly some effects of Act 10 may factor into those decisions. However, to make a blanket statement that Act 10 is the reason teachers are leaving school districts in Wisconsin (in this case the Neenah Joint School District) especially by citing only one candidate’s decision to go elsewhere, is an unfortunate exaggeration at best. We are extremely proud of our schools in Neenah and incredibly proud of the staff we have assembled both prior to and since the passage of Act 10. We have never settled for an inferior candidate to fill a position and will never do that to our students or families. Since you have not reached out to me to learn more about our District, I will provide to you some data points that you might find revealing about why we continue to be a high performing district in Wisconsin. Since Act 10: we have faced, and met, the difficult challenges necessary to support student learning while retaining our excellent staff. we have significantly reduced an unsustainable $184 million unfunded liability regarding our Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB). Meanwhile, we still provide all of our most veteran employees a $100,000 retirement benefit. New employees are also provided OPEB benefits and that is something that most districts have eliminated. As you are aware, this is in addition to the state retirement benefit. we have reduced class sizes and increased the number of our certified staff. our school board has supported pools of dollars for 2% salary increases (above the CPI) and 2% one time stipend awards every year for all employee groups for a total of 4% . Over the past two years, 57 certified staff members have received a $5,000 or more increase in their salary. more than 33% of certified staff received a 3% or higher salary increase in 2013-14, with 6% of them receiving 6% increases or higher. our insurance costs are the lowest in our area. we have no long-term debt. our mill-rate remains the lowest in our area at $8.53 and a decrease for the third consecutive year. I respectfully ask that you stop using Neenah as an example of the negative ramifications of Act 10. This request has nothing to do with my personal feelings or political stance. It is about a dedicated staff that is proud to work in Neenah. I would be pleased to speak with you further on this issue. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Dr. Mary Pfeiffer Superintendent of Schools Neenah Joint School District
A Neenah school board member told TWS that every position has "a couple hundred applications" and the district was able to raise the starting wage for teachers because of Walker's reforms (known as Act 10):
Burke didn’t explain what was so bad about the schools in Neenah, a city of 25,000 people about 40 miles south of Green Bay, but the district certainly isn’t having a hard time finding good teachers in the Walker era. “We probably get a couple hundred applications for every opening,” John Lehman, vice president of the Neenah school board and a Republican, told me. “After Act 10, we increased our starting salary from $34,000 to $40,500.” Because of Act 10, Lehman said, the district reopened two elementary schools that had been closed after earlier budget cuts. Budget constraints were forcing the district to lay off 10 to 12 teachers each year. How many teachers have been laid off since Walker’s Act 10? “None,” said Lehman. The middle school has even begun offering Chinese language courses. Neenah’s story is typical of districts across the state: Walker’s reform gave administrators the freedom to make modest changes to benefits and work requirements—most of which Burke says she supports—so they could balance their budgets without firing teachers, raising taxes, or hurting students. It’s little wonder Burke has dropped the issue of Act 10: The law is working.
Burke spent an unheard-of $128,000 to be elected in 2012 as a school board member in Madison--the only elective office that she has ever held. But she doesn't seem to have a very good grasp of education policy.
