Teachers Who Staged Sick-in are 'Disingenuous,' Lawmaker Says

Describing the teachers who called in sick this week to take part in a protest over the budget repair bill as "disingenuous," state Rep. Dan Knodl said Friday that the vast majority of his constituents support having public employees pay more for health care and pension benefits.

Knodl, a Republican whose 24th Assembly District includes Menomonee Falls, has been in the thick of things this week as thousands of people descended upon the state Capitol to fight the Gov. Scott Walker's bill, which would take away most bargaining rights for public employees.

The protests in Madison have thrown the state into the epicenter of the national news spotlight. On Friday, both the state Senate and Assembly adjourned without taking action on the measure.

Knodl, in an interview with Patch, said he is listening to what the noisy protesters have to say...but he's also listening to the rest of his constitutents.

“We certainly like to hear from the public in anyway and any fashion," he said. "Right now, we are hearing from the public employee side of things, but we also need to the listen to the general public taxpayer side of things.”

He particularly took issue with teachers who staged a "sick-in" this week that prompted districts across the state, including Madison and Milwaukee, to close their doors.

“I find it disingenuous that anybody who considers themselves a professional wouldn’t show up for their job, which they have signed a contract to do,” Knodl said.

Knodl said private sector employees and his constituents are overwhelmingly in support of requiring public employees to pay a greater share of their pensions and health care benefits. He said the public knows the state needs to rein in spending. Since public employee labor costs are the largest portion of the state budget, spending reductions need to be made there.

But protesters are primarily concerned that the bill would strip them off most of their collective bargaining rights. However, Knodl said the collective bargaining process no longer works.

“The collective bargaining right is a system that is broken. The state has nothing left to bargain with financially,” Knodl said. “It has failed. It has gotten to the point - simply put - that the state and its taxpayers cannot sustain that type of benefit package anymore.”

Knodl said he also is confident the bill will ultimately pass, even though Senate Democrats fled Wisconsin to prevent a vote.

“It’s simply stall-and-delay tactics. Perhaps they feel the longer it is stalled , that the majority party is going to have a change of heart,” Knodl said.  “I am very, very confident that in the state Assembly, the votes will be there to pass the bill, and that will not change no matter how long the delay tactics go on.”

Marty weighs in on issue

Also closely watching the events in Madison was Menomonee Falls School Superintendent Keith Marty.

Unlike what happened in other distircts, classes went on as normal in Menomonee Falls, and Marty was quick to acknowledge the professionalism exhibited by teachers staff in the midst of a difficult situation.

“It’s been a stressful week for all concerned,” he said. “I am really proud of our teachers for being at work. They’ve had a lot pressure put on them, and they’ve maintained their professionalism.”

Although the district didn’t have to worry about teacher absences, what's happening in Madison will directly affect the district's budget planning process. The district is facing a $1.7 million to $3.3 million budget shortfall next year.

Administrators had hoped to learn more specifics about the deficit on Feb. 22, when Walker was originally scheduled to release his state budget. That has been pushed back to March 1.

Marty has said the district will need to eliminate between 12 to 18 full-time equivalent positions, and preliminary layoff notices must be approved by the School Board Feb. 28. The timing further complicates the budget planning process.

However, with the talks about budget deficits, protests and collective bargaining, it can be easy to lose sight of what is most important.

“One of the things we want to do here is keep young people in mind. We have to keep our focus on young people and their needs more than anything,” Marty said. “We badly need teachers performing at high levels and we need them. There may be some in the public that see this as an opportunity to put teachers in their place, but they are human beings. They have families houses and lives.”