The Capitol Report, produced by WisPolitics.com — a nonpartisan, Madison-based news service that specializes in coverage of government and politics — provides a weekly analysis of issues being debated in Wisconsin state government. It is underwritten by the WNA and produced exclusively for its members. WisPolitics.com President Jeff Mayers is a former editor and reporter for the Associated Press and a former political writer for the Wisconsin State Journal.
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With a huge state surplus and a new budget plan coming soon from Gov. Tony Evers, education advocates are hoping for money and programs to stem teacher shortages around the state. Already, some concrete proposals are in the mix.
The Department of Public Instruction’s budget includes measures aiming to boost the education workforce amid an acute shortage of teachers and staff.
The agency’s 2023-2025 budget requests $10 million in general-purpose revenue for a new “Grow Your Own” grant program. The program would reimburse local education agencies for participating in initiatives to help people gain educational degrees and licenses, such as paying licensing costs and sponsoring clubs that encourage high school students to pursue educational careers. UW-Madison also has a program to encourage the training of students who will teach in Wisconsin.
Evers, former state superintendent of public instruction, has urged more funding for public schools and previously announced $75 million to help districts meet staffing needs, among other things.
Meanwhile, Republican legislative leaders have indicated their willingness to work with the Democratic governor on school funding but have also pushed to expand the state’s private school choice program.
Any budget plan or proposal to spend money from the state’s expected $6.6 billion surplus needs approval from the GOP-dominated Legislature and Evers.
Education advocates report a desperate need for teachers and staffers.
Susan Muenter, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School Personnel Administrators, told WisPolitics.com she believes based on conversations with association members that while staffing hasn’t gotten worse since the school year started, it hasn’t improved either. She said it is especially challenging to keep support staff positions filled, including custodians, food services and bus drivers.
“We’re competing against Kwik Trip and McDonald’s and whatever. You know, every time we raise wages, they do, too,” Muenter said.
Wisconsin Education Association Council President Peggy Wirtz-Olsen, who is also a teacher, in a statement called the amount of people leaving education jobs “alarming.”
“There are an alarming number of educators leaving the profession due to unrealistic workloads, low pay and a lack of input in school decisions. The educator shortage causes disruption for students and puts additional stress on those who remain in the profession,” Wirtz-Olsen said.
She added educators and school boards across the state should work together to create “fair, transparent” salary schedules in order to retain teachers and support staff.
An internal DPI survey from August found a majority of responding districts and charter schools had trouble filling positions for the 2022-2023 school year amid an overall workforce shortage across the state.
DPI in August requested that the state’s 421 districts and 240 charter schools in public school districts voluntarily complete the staffing survey to better gauge the number of open positions and specific areas of need to address. Of the 335 responding school districts and charter schools, 307 cited staffing issues.
The internal survey asked districts to indicate the number of unfilled positions. According to survey results provided to WisPolitics.com, of the 355 respondents, 235 said 5 percent or less of positions were vacant. Other percentages for vacant positions include:
*63 districts listed 10 percent or less;
*14 districts listed 15 percent or less;
*Nine districts listed 20 percent or less; and
*One district listed more than 20 percent.
Respondents also cited what specific positions were needed:
*234 districts said they lacked classroom teachers;
*215 said they needed more classroom support staff;
*131 said pupil services staff were needed;
*20 said they needed administrators/principals/building leaders; and
*None indicated a need for building operations staff, including bus drivers.
“As we saw with the responses in this voluntary survey, staffing challenges vary across the state, and they very well may have changed since August when the survey was issued,” DPI spokesperson Chris Bucher told WisPolitics.com. “Our school district leaders have been doing everything they can to address staffing challenges they may be facing.”
The number of UW System graduates conferred with bachelor’s degrees in education has decreased overall since the 2000-2001 school year, with a high of 2,437 in 2003-04. The number was 2,002 in the 2020-2021, the most recent data available online. UW-Madison’s School of Education has a teacher pledge program that covers in-state tuition and fees, testing and licensing costs for teacher education students who vow to work at a Wisconsin Pre-K- through-12th grade school for three to four years after graduation.
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Rep. Joel Kitchens, the vice-chair of the Assembly Education Committee, told WisPolitics.com while there is a need for more teachers, there is an overall worker shortage in the state. Kitchens said it is important to provide incentives to encourage more people to pursue education careers and be more flexible with licensing.
“Especially in these high-needs fields where we have people that have been out in the private sector that have very valuable experience. And we need to make it easier for them, you know, if they make a choice later in life to go with education, we need to make that easier,” the Sturgeon Bay Republican said.
For those seeking to become teachers, they must either seek a bachelor’s degree or attend a teacher prep program, attend a post-baccalaureate program, or attend an alternative route program to gain licensure in a specific subject, and apply for a license.
Kitchens noted it isn’t always feasible for people who want to become teachers later in their careers to take off a year or two to get their license. He also said allowing retired teachers to return and help fill long-term substitute positions could be helpful in emergencies. DPI issued 2,589 substitute licenses from July 1 through yesterday. By comparison, the agency issued 3,075 of the licenses from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019.
Of the respondents to the August DPI survey, 171 specifically indicated a need for special education staff, with 92 listing math and 88 listing English language arts/literacy/reading.
Other data from the responding school district and charter schools include:
*87 districts cited a need for help in the career and technical education and technical fields;
*60 districts said they needed help filling science positions;
*56 listed English learner/language acquisition; and
*18 listed social studies.
Respondents had the option to provide open-ended responses as well, noting subjects including art, music, foreign languages, physical education, and a lack of elementary school staff.
Of the 335 responding districts, 211 offered suggestions for DPI to help with their staffing issues, including more flexible licensing requirements, promoting careers in education, increasing funding for schools and better pay for staff.
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