Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Wed 05/28/2025 View Tue 05/27/2025 View Mon 05/26/2025 View Sun 05/25/2025 View Sat 05/24/2025 View Fri 05/23/2025 View Thu 05/22/2025
2011-07-25 Economy
Walker’s Vindication
Emily Koczela had been anxiously waiting for months for Wisconsin governor Scott Walker’s controversial budget repair bill to take effect. Koczela, the finance director for the Brown Deer school district, had been negotiating with the local union, trying to get it to accept concessions in order to make up for a $1 million budget shortfall. But the union wouldn’t budge.

“We laid off 27 [teachers] as a precautionary measure,” Koczela told me. “They were crying. Some of these people are my friends.”

On June 29 at 12:01 a.m., Koczela could finally breathe a sigh of relief. The budget repair bill​—​delayed for months by protests, runaway state senators, and a legal challenge that made its way to the state’s supreme court​—​was law. The 27 teachers on the chopping block were spared.

With “collective bargaining rights” limited to wages, Koczela was able to change the teachers’ benefits package to fill the budget gap. Requiring teachers to contribute 5.8 percent of their salary toward pensions saved $600,000. Changes to their health care plan​—​such as a $10 office visit co-pay (up from nothing)​—​saved $200,000. Upping the workload from five classes, a study hall, and two prep periods to six classes and two prep periods saved another $200,000. The budget was balanced.

“Everything we changed didn’t touch the children,” Koczela said. Under a collective bargaining agreement, she continued, “We could never have negotiated that​—​never ever.” Koczela, a graduate of Smith College and Duke University Law School, is no Republican flack. She says she’s a “classic Wisconsin independent. I vote both parties. I voted for Senator [Russ] Feingold but I voted for [Republican state] Senator Alberta Darling too.”
Posted by Beavis 2011-07-25 18:28|| || Front Page|| [11136 views ]  Top

#1 Not one syllable of this has appeared in the Wisconsin State Journal (Madison). Wis Pub Radio had some talking head challenging the amount of saving in the Kaukauna (I posted the Kaukauna story here a few weeks ago)
Posted by mom 2011-07-25 20:36||   2011-07-25 20:36|| Front Page Top

#2 That should read, "the Kaukauna school district"
Posted by mom 2011-07-25 20:37||   2011-07-25 20:37|| Front Page Top

#3 FYI Guam's DOE repor needs 50 Teachers for the coming year.
Posted by JosephMendiola 2011-07-25 21:33||   2011-07-25 21:33|| Front Page Top

#4 This is what the unions fought so hard to prevent. Once we see what things are like without then we'll never go back.
Posted by Iblis 2011-07-25 21:39||   2011-07-25 21:39|| Front Page Top

#5 mom, I was glad to be able to quote that story in conversation thereafter. Thank you!
Posted by trailing wife 2011-07-25 23:51||   2011-07-25 23:51|| Front Page Top

02:05 Grom the Affective
02:04 Grom the Affective
01:26 49 Pan
00:22 EMS Artifact
00:16 Skidmark









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com