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Gov. Jim Doyle would like to see some basic reforms in Wisconsin school financing — possibly in a legislative proposal next fall.
In exchange for some basic economic reforms, Doyle said, school districts could get relief from the restrictive impact of state revenue caps.
The budget Doyle signed Monday will eliminate the Qualified Economic Offer, which helped school districts avoid arbitration for 15 years.
Under the QEO, districts could avoid arbitration if they offered wage and benefit increases of at least 3.8 percent.
Doyle has long opposed the QEO, and has said that teachers were the only public employees who had their salary increases limited by state law.
“We’ve got to do something about teacher pay when we’ve fallen $5,000-$7,000 below starting salaries for teachers, compared to our surrounding states,” Doyle said. “That’s been the effect of the QEO, and it hasn’t been good.”
With the QEO gone, however, school districts could be under even more financial pressure because of the revenue caps.
“I have suggested a path by which school districts could get out from under the revenue caps,” Doyle said, “but they would have to agree to a number of cost-saving mechanisms to protect the taxpayers.”
# For purposes of collective bargaining, the state’s 425 school districts would have to work with other surrounding districts to form bargaining groups of at least 500 members.
“If we could cut those 425 contracts down to 100 contracts, we could save everybody a lot of money,” Doyle said.
# If a school district’s health care costs are higher than what it costs to be in the state health pool, they would be required to join the state plan.
“If you’ve found a better deal for yourself, fine,” Doyle said. “If not, you’d have to come in.”
# School districts would have to agree to a variety of education enhancement measures to reduce achievement gaps between students.
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