Frederica Freyberg:

In tandem with our series of interviews with the candidates running the democratic primary for governor, multi-media reporter Marisa Wojcik will provide follow-up and context to statements made by those candidates on “Here and Now.” Here’s Marisa’s report on comments made by candidate Kelda Roys related to Act 10 and the supply and demand for teachers in Wisconsin.

Marisa Wojcik:

Democratic candidates to be Wisconsins next governor have expressed doing away with Act 10, legislation from 2011 that weakened unions ability to bargain collectively and trimmed benefits for public sector employees. Kelda Roys said on our program recently that Act 10 was a mistake.

Kelda Roys:

And we’re seeing the effects, terrible effects in terms of being able to attract and retain great teachers.

Marisa Wojcik:

So what does the supply and demand for teachers in Wisconsins public sector look like post-Act 10? A January 2017 report from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research looks at these numbers. One takeaway from this report, Wisconsin is not experiencing a statewide teacher shortage. The study also reveals movement among some teachers to other districts where they’ve been recruited and considered for higher salaries. In turn, certain districts, typically smaller and with lower budgets, are more likely to struggle to fill vacant positions because they can’t offer competitive incentives. In 2017, Wisconsin had 54,401 teachers and averaged 16 students per teacher. Compared with other states, Wisconsin ranks 20th for number of teachers, according to data from the National Education Association. Wisconsin is seeing a decline of people enrolling and completing education preparation programs. But this is a national trend. From 2010 to 2016, enrollment in these programs declined 35.4% in the state, but that follows fairly close to the nationwide decline of 33.6%. As for Act 10, Peter Goff, a UW-Madison Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis cautions us not to focus too closely on that policy but to look toward better targeting of funds to districts in the state that need it. For these and other fast facts, visit wpt.org.