Post Act 10, A Free Agency Culture of Education Emerges
The passage of Wisconsin's Act 10 has created a "free agent" culture for teachers who are no longer dissuaded from leaving a district and surrendering seniority. The result has been a new competition in education to keep the best and brightest teachers.
Every sports fan has felt that bittersweet moment when their favorite athlete leaves the team they love for a new team offering a sweeter deal. For the athlete, it’s a new and more lucrative opportunity to use their unique skills and talents. In a post-Act 10 educational environment in Wisconsin, the dynamic isn’t much different for educators. Teacher seniority and incremental pay scales have gone out the window and have been replaced by performance-based systems of employment. While Act 10 stripped the majority of bargaining rights from teachers, it also caused a major shift in the culture to which teachers have grown accustomed. “Education may become like pro sports and the teacher could become a free agent in a sense. The opportunity is…
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Bryant Divelbiss
6:18 am on Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Comparing to Pro-athletes is not quite correct. The best quarterback is worth a lot but the 100th best quarterback may not be on a team. The same is not true for teachers, engineers, or most normal professions. Act 10 just makes teacher like most salaried professionals. Most likely it means cutting those that just can not do the job or retain most of your good teachers, more so than all schools … more ›