MADISON, Wis. – When Act 10 became law in Wisconsin in 2011, restricting collective bargaining rights for public sector labor unions ( including teachers unions), critics predicted that the bottom would fall out of the teaching profession in the state.

But that has not been the case, according to a new study released by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL).

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The study found that the ratio of teachers to students in classrooms did not change much, compared to several surrounding states. It also found that the number of students per school administrator has not increased, compared to neighboring states.

The study said that school spending on gross salaries for teachers remained largely the same, when compared to surrounding states. Base salaries for teachers decreased somewhat, due to the ability of school districts to implement creative compensation innovations like “pay for performance” programs.

Finally, the study said there has been little change in the average number of years of teacher experience in Wisconsin since Act 10, and little difference in the racial makeup of the teaching force.

While the overall number of teachers in the state has declined, the study found that the trend started several years before Act 10 became law.

The study used data compiled by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and U.S. Department of Education, according to a WILL press release. To control for national or regional trends that could be impact the teacher workforce, the study compared Wisconsin’s teaching workforce with those in neighboring states Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan.

“Act 10 was incredibly controversial with many politicians and public union leaders saying Act 10 would destroy public education and the teaching workforce,” WILL stated in its press release.  “Five years later, this study – by comparing Wisconsin to neighboring states – shows that these claims were greatly exaggerated and/or failed to materialize.”

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The findings of the study did not impress Democrats or officials from Wisconsin’s teachers unions, who suggested in one media report that the statistics are somehow inaccurate.

“This so-called report is mere propaganda bought and paid for by the same groups that pushed nearly $1 billion in cuts to our neighborhood public schools over the past five years,” Betsy Kippers, president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state’s largest teachers union, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“Clearly the authors…are more concerned with fixing the numbers to create a virtual reality than they are about our students. And they certainly haven’t spent any time in public schools to see reality for themselves.”