QEO Ending Hasn't Been Gold Mine Teachers Hoped, Report Says

APPLETON, Wis. (WTAQ) - The ending of state limits on teacher pay has not been the financial bonanza that many teachers had hoped. In fact, an attorney for the Wisconsin School Boards Association says many teachers might have gotten higher settlements had the governor and Legislature not repealed the so-called QEO last spring.

Attorney Barry Forbes tells the Appleton Post-Crescent that an annual 3.8 percent increase in pay and benefits was often the starting point for negotiations. But with the QEO gone, Forbes said many districts initially proposed no raises for this year due to the recession. According to the School Boards Association, the average increase turned out to be 3.78 percent for this year, and 3.9 next year. This year’s raise was about a third-of-a-percent less than last year.

The state’s largest teachers union says 123 of the 426 districts have settled contracts. And senior researcher Jeffrey Leverich blames the recession, and not the ending of the QEO, for the low settlements. The QEO allowed school boards to avoid contract arbitration by offering teachers at least a 3.8 percent increase each year in combined salaries and benefits.