NEW BERLIN, Wis. – The local media was in a frenzy a few years ago, when a large number of teachers were leaving the New Berlin school district.

The mass exodus was largely due to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s Act 10, which curbed the power of teachers unions and allowed school administrators to manage their districts for the benefit of students.

Under the old union contract system, teachers came first. When that changed in New Berlin, a lot of teachers left.

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Some departed for understandable reasons – to accept better offers from other districts, or to claim generous retirement benefits before their union contracts expired.

But many others resigned in a huff, claiming they had been “disrespected” by administrators. As one newspaper headline summed it up, “Unhappy with treatment after Act 10, many are leaving.”

“There’s no reason to stay in a district that doesn’t treat you well anymore,” one 15-year high school guidance counselor told the media in 2012 as she prepared to leave the New Berlin district.

Some also predicted that the loss of veteran staff would hurt the quality of instruction in schools.

“As much as they thought (Act 10) would balance the budget and put money back into the schools, it’s caused the quality of education within the schools to go down, at least initially, until others are trained,” the guidance counselor said.

As it turned out, the New Berlin district has replaced about half of its teaching staff since 2011, when Act 10 was passed, but “the quality of education” has actually improved.

“The long and the short of it is, we are having the highest level of academic success this district has ever achieved,” said New Berlin Superintendent Joe Garza. “We have five-year highs in test scores in reading and math, and our ACT scores match the highest in the history of the district.”

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So how could academics improve with the loss of so many experienced teachers?

It’s partially because, as a byproduct of Act 10, school districts have the ability to recruit quality teachers from other districts, and New Berlin has done a lot of that, Garza said.

In the past teachers had little incentive to switch districts, because they remained on strict union pay scales, which were based almost entirely on seniority. A fourth-year teacher could switch from one district to another, and be very effective, but would still be stuck with a standard fourth-year salary.

Now districts are free to treat teachers like professionals and offer them whatever salary they think they’re worth.

“We do everything we can to find the best possible staff for students,” Garza said.

New Berlin also has its share of young teachers, but they start with the clear understanding that student learning is the top priority – not collective bargaining, fringe benefits, seniority or bumping rights.

The teachers – old and new alike – have responded well to the new student-focused environment and are doing a great job, Garza said.

“Our staff is making (the academic improvements) happen,” Garza said. “We are so proud of them. We value their work.

“We want to keep this momentum growing to support our students and show our community the level of excellence we can provide.”

A different world

The bottom line, according to Garza, is that school administrators and teachers unions simply had different priorities. Administrators were interested in improving academics and serving kids, while union officials prioritized job security and seniority rights for teachers.

That kept the New Berlin district – and public schools throughout the state – from being everything they could be.

“The needs of the district and the priorities of the union were not aligned,” Garza said. “The unions were not about students and student learning.

Now that Act 10 has limited the unions’ ability to interfere with school operations, “we can truly focus on what’s right – prioritizing student learning and student needs without distractions,” Garza said.

Much has been reported about the financial impact of Act 10.

All Wisconsin public schools were given the ability to save millions of dollars through the elimination of most union collective bargaining. Expensive labor costs were brought under control and savings were reinvested in education.

But the savings were not the best thing about Act 10, Garza said. The most crucial reform was giving school officials the ability to operate in a manner beneficial to children.

“Even if we would have had more money, we wouldn’t have been able to make any academic upgrades without having to deal with the union bureaucracy,” Garza said. “I had a full time job dealing with it.”

One improvement under Act 10 is the ability to more easily remove underperforming teachers, regardless of their level of seniority. In the past it could take years, and thousands of dollars in legal fees, to remove substandard educators. Now all teachers work under limited contracts and can be terminated with relative ease.

New Berlin had a “spike” in the removal of underperforming teachers just after Act 10 became law, but it’s rarely necessary any more, Garza said.

“If things come to a head, we can address them,” he said. “We now have the ability to move on and regroup and focus on the things we need to focus on.”

Teacher professional development is another area where Act 10 has come in handy, according to Garza. The old union contract limited the amount of training teachers would receive, regardless of how critical it was. Now administrators determine how much training is done, and when it takes place.

“There were only so many days (of development) allowed in the union contract,” Garza said. “It was like pulling teeth trying to get them to come in and train.”

Garza also points to a recent district effort to partner with area colleges and technical training schools, so students can have learning opportunities, and gain hands-on experience, away from campus.

Before Act 10, such a program would have required the approval of the teachers union, and there would have been disagreement, Garza said. Teachers unions are well known for opposing instructional activities that don’t employ their members, regardless of how much they may benefit students.

Job security, don’t you know.

“That would have been questioned by the union,” Garza said. “We probably would have had grievances and long conversations. It would have been scrutinized and dragged out, which would not have been in the interests of students.”

Staff management is also far less of an issue in the Act 10 era, Garza said. Administrators are now free to place teachers in positions that fit their abilities, so they can have the maximum impact on students. In the past personnel moves were largely dictated by union contract rules that gave prioritized senior teachers, regardless of their skills.

“Now we can look and determine who can meet the needs of kids without having to check some document to see if we can actually put the best person in front of kids,” Garza said.