The Post-Crescent
written by Staff
Wednesday June 29, 2011
KAUKAUNA — As changes to collective bargaining powers for public workers take effect today, the Kaukauna Area School District is poised to swing from a projected $400,000 budget shortfall next year to a $1.5 million surplus due to health care and retirement savings.
The Kaukauna School Board approved changes Monday to its employee handbook that require staff to cover 12.6 percent of their health insurance and to contribute 5.8 percent of their wages to the state’s pension system, in accordance with the new collective bargaining law, commonly known as Act 10.
“These impacts will allow the district to hire additional teachers (and) reduce projected class sizes,” School Board President Todd Arnoldussen wrote in a statement Monday. “In addition, time will be available for staff to identify and support students needing individual assistance through individual and small group experiences.”
The district anticipates that elementary class size projections for next year will shrink from 26 students to 23 students. Class sizes for River View Middle School are expected to fall from 28 students to 26 students.
Kaukauna High School classes could be reduced from 31 students to 25 students.
The new rules and updated operating budget also institute $300,000 in merit pay for staff next year, to be awarded at the school board’s discretion.
State Rep. Jim Steineke, R-Vandenbroek, who represents the 5th District, which includes Kaukauna, issued a statement Tuesday heralding Act 10’s impact on the school district’s budget.
“When (Act 10) was being passed, there was so much misinformation about how this bill would hurt schools,” Steineke wrote. ‘But, as time has passed, it is becoming clearer that this bill gives schools the tools they need to create a better learning environment for the children of Wisconsin.”
In April, the school board rejected a proposal from the Kaukauna Education Association to extend the union’s contract and incorporate pension and healthcare concessions along with a wage freeze, a move the union projected could save the district about $1.8 million next year.
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