Democratic Assembly Candidate Says Public School Teachers Should Work For State

During an appearance on the Wisconsin Public Radio talk show “Route 51” last Thursday, Democratic Assembly candidate Dana Duncan said that public school teachers should be paid by the state of Wisconsin, not by local school districts.

Duncan — who in addition to running for central Wisconsin’s 72nd Assembly District seat, is also president of the Port Edwards School Board — said that making all K-12 public school teachers employees of the state could be a unique way to relieve local school property taxes.

“If we were to reclassify and make teachers state employees, then you’re talking real property tax relief,” said Duncan.

He said that because the state would be paying the teachers, it would be forced to meet the traditional goal of two-thirds state funding for local schools. Duncan would also allow teachers to bargain collectively on a region-by-region basis.

“Go back to some form of a collective bargaining agreement by region. The western Wisconsin region — La Crosse and southwestern Wisconsin — has a little different economic situation than, say, Green Bay does,” said Duncan.

Duncan’s opponent, Republican Assemblyman Scott Krug, is skeptical of the idea. He said the proposal would end local control of schools, and bloat the state budget.

“We have local school boards for a reason,” he said. “We like to have the local control in our local districts for them to make decisions based on what works in their individual areas. This just seems like it’s one of those left-field proposals.”

The 72nd Assembly District covers parts of Adams, Wood and Portage counties.

Editor’s Note: With full disclosure, the author of this article, Glen Moberg, is the host of “Route 51.”