In what could be the biggest fight yet over repealing the controversial law limiting the pay raises of Wisconsin's teachers, Gov. Jim Doyle and Democrats who run the state Senate once again are taking aim at it.
The so-called qualified economic offer law was passed in 1993 to control property taxes on homes.
It says that teachers unions and school boards at a collective bargaining impasse cannot request binding arbitration, if the unions have been offered wage and fringe benefit raises that total 3.8% a year. If increased fringe benefits costs eat up the 3.8%, school boards don't have to offer teachers any pay raise.
Stoking the Capitol fire is the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state's largest teachers union, which says the entire school-aid formula is so broken it must be reinvented this year - a change the union says should include abolishing the qualified economic offer law.
Backing up Republicans such as Rhoades is Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state's largest business group and one of the most powerful Capitol lobbying groups.
"Any effort to repeal QEO is a non-starter with the business community because it's going to lead to pressure to raise property taxes," said Jim Pugh, the business group's spokesman. "Wisconsin has the seventh-highest taxes in the nation."
But the largest teachers union, an equally powerful Capitol force, says the school-aid formula is so broken a new one must be passed this year - a huge task that legislators might not have the time, will or cash to approve.
Wisconsin Education Association Council President Stan Johnson said the formula fails the poorest one-third of all public school students - the ones who need the most help.
Since 1993, Johnson says, the pay-raise limit has caused average salaries for Wisconsin's teachers to fall to 24th nationally overall and to 30th nationally for starting teachers.
The law has meant that property taxes have been controlled "on our backs" for the past 13 years, Johnson said.
It "has been their property tax relief program," Johnson said of Capitol officials.
Although the council spent $1.9 million to help re-elect Doyle, Johnson said he did not know whether the Democratic governor will include a complete new school-aid formula in his state budget proposal.
| Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas