MADISON, Wis. – As they’ve demonstrated in Wisconsin, our nation’s public schools can function just fine with less revenue if they have the power to control union labor costs.

The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance has released a report confirming what many have suspected for several years: Gov. Scott Walker’s Act 10, which essentially stripped teachers unions of collective bargaining privileges, allowed public schools across the state to absorb $450 worth of cuts in state aid in 2011 without major layoffs or student program cuts.

Without having to deal with the unions, local school boards were allowed to adjust their budgets any way they wanted to protect student programs and interests. That were allowed to target teacher salaries and expensive benefits that consumed a huge percentage of their budgets.

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Act 10 also forced school employees to pay for a portion of their health insurance and state pension costs, saving districts millions of dollars. It also took employee health insurance off the collective bargaining table, allowing districts to shop the open market for employee coverage, instead of being forced to purchase the expensive coverage pedaled by a company with close ties to the state’s largest teachers union.

In Wisconsin, the main problem had been the refusal of unions to voluntary accept wage and benefit concessions when the economy collapsed. Walker removed that problem by taking the “voluntary” aspect out of the equation.

When labor costs can’t be maintained without hurting students, school boards are now free to trim those costs.

Obviously teacher salaries and benefits will rebound in Wisconsin as the economy continues to improve and more tax dollars are available for schools. But many Wisconsin districts are implementing different forms of merit pay programs, so they can reward the best teachers with higher compensation and target the others for improvement or termination.

That’s just smart use of tax money.

If labor costs are going to consume such a large part of school budgets, it only makes sense that schools are allowed to keep the best and jettison the rest, instead of relying on the expensive and failed system of giving all teachers automatic raises every year, regardless of their performance.

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