Walker's Wisconsin is:
- One of only 6 states in America where teachers do not have the right to collectively bargain over benefits, working conditions, and all aspects of pay.
- One of only 3 states in America where there are no tenure protections for experienced teachers. Almost every teacher in Wisconsin is now what was known as a probationary teacher before Act 10 for their entire career and can be fired without a defensible reason.
- The ONLY state in America where all teachers have no tenure protections AND do not have the right to collectively bargain for fair treatment or reasonable job security.
The toxic combination of no state tenure protections and being stripped of the core rights to collectively bargain has resulted in:
- Many experienced teachers being laid off, non-renewed, or forced to resign without recourse. In addition to creating a separate but unequal state-wide voucher school program, Scott Walker has cut over 3 BILLION dollars in funding to Wisconsin's public schools. As a candidate for President, Walker bragged that his laws encouraged Wisconsin school districts to fire teachers.
- Wisconsin ACT scores are FALLING as experienced teachers who have been non-renewed and terminated since Act 10 are replaced by inexperienced and sometimes uncertified teachers. Faced with increasingly severe shortages of physics, mathematics, computer science, technical education, and special education teachers, Govenor Walker & Republican legislators are working to lower teacher licensing requirements to allow people with no teacher training to teach in Wisconsin's public schools.
- Gutting of 50 years of improvements to compensation, benefits, and workload gained through collective bargaining. Many school districts have eliminated salary schedules and benefits negotiated in good faith prior to Act 10. Teachers in Walker's Wisconsin are experiencing working conditions that most states left behind in the 1930's.
- Teachers with decades of excellent service have been forced out based on ONE parent complaint. In Walker's Wisconsin, there have been instances where even one parent allegation or complaint has resulted in a teacher being suspended and recommended for termination.
- Over 3 BILLION DOLLARS in cuts to public education plus hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars flowing to a separate but unequal voucher schools has resulted in deteriorating conditions in Wisconsin's crippled public schools. Class sizes of 30, 40, or more students, elimination of gifted and talented programs, giant special education caseloads, no personal attention for struggling students are becoming commonplace in school districts across Walker's Wisconsin.
Across Walker's Wisconsin, teachers are fleeing their districts, the state of Wisconsin, and often the profession to escape the terrible working conditions found in too many school districts across Wisconsin. Without a website like ours, many of these teachers will be enticed to sign a contract to work in new district where teaching and working conditions are even worse than those found in the district they are leaving.
Our primary reason for creating this website is to help great teachers make informed decisions about which district to teach in.
Towards that end, in just a few days, we will begin publishing district information for about 30 school districts across Southeastern Wisconsin. Our volunteer researchers have spent the last year sourcing key information that every teacher would want to know BEFORE signing a teaching contract.
In a few days, you will be able to read the District Information pages to find:
- The district that is actively recruiting new teachers with the promise of a career salary schedule with a $75,000 maximum salary, but fails to mention that it will take a new hire 60 YEARS to reach that salary.
- The district with a salary system where over 95% of the teachers hired in the past five years will never earn more than about $50,000 in today's dollars.
- The district where district administration recommended the termination of a teacher with nearly 20 years of outstanding teaching based on ONE complaint from a parent. Learn more about how this district suspended an excellent teacher and prevented her from defending her reputation while the District Superintendent trashed her reputation as a guest on several right wing AM radio talk shows.
- The districts that overwhelm their teachers with crushing workload requirements, no prep time, and also require 2 SLO's, 2 PPG's, and a full summative evaluation each year.
We will be working throughout the summer to add districts from across Wisconsin to the District Information pages.
If you would like to add a District page for your district, please use the Contact Us tab on the Home page to send us an email. Include your email address and we will send you a fillable survey form to complete.
Our goal is to eventually have a District Information page for every school district in Wisconsin.
We hope you find the information on this website useful in finding a great school district to teach in, whether that district is in Wisconsin, or in another state where teachers are truly valued for the contribution they make towards the future.