In the latest round of public school educators getting kicked while they’re down, last week the LaCrosse School Board voted to give teachers a 2% pay raise. Insert record scratch noise here.
Here’s Five Fast Facts about LaCrosse Teacher’s Pay Raise:
- 🏫Yay or Nay? - The 8-1 vote came after months of negotiations with the LaCrosse Education Association (LEA) asking for a 4.7% increase to keep up with inflation. It should be noted that school districts of all sizes across the state have enacted 4.7% increases.
- 🎒Brass Tacks - Board members said the school is dealing with a $2.4M budget deficit for the school year because of declining enrollment, and a lack of state funding. They insisted this was not based on teacher performance. Ah yes, the old “It’s not you, it’s me” routine.
- 🚌Seriously, Dude? - The Superintendent even went on record as saying they probably shouldn’t have given raises of any kind, but the board wanted to show teachers some appreciation.
- 🧑🏫I’m Out - It should be no surprise that those same teachers have started looking for work in other districts.
- 🚸Merger - It doesn’t stop with the teachers, though. Apparently the LaCrosse district is in such dire financial straits that the board approved a referendum that will let voters decide whether or not to combine two high schools into one.
🔥Bottom line: Bus driver shortages. School lunch issues. And now this. The Wisconsin public education system is getting beat up badly. It’s one of those deals where you look around and find yourself at a loss to figure out how we got here. If you want things to change (or even if you don’t!) the solution rests at the local and regional polls.
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