Posted on 02/21/2011 7:29:36 AM PST by Qbert
[Madison, Wisc...] As Milwaukee Public School teachers left their classrooms to march in Madison Friday, they likely earned more than $3 million to not teach students in Wisconsin’s largest school district.
In Madison, the school district was closed for three days after hundreds of teachers engaged in a mass sick-out so they could attend protest rallies at the State Capitol. That could cost the district $2.7 million.
Late Sunday night Madison Metropolitan School District administration announced their schools would be shut down yet one more day, at a possible cost of more than $900,000.
Many of absent teachers converged on the Capitol to protest a bill which would alter their compensation packages and make changes in government employee unions’ ability to collectively bargain on issues other than wages.
While some have speculated that the absent teachers will see their pay docked, that may not be the case if they provide a doctor’s note. Due to collective bargaining rules currently in place, the absences could be considered excused and the teachers would be paid for their protesting.
That possibility took on added significance as the MacIver News Service broke the story Saturday that several doctors in lab coats were handing out medical excuse notes to passers by, without examining the ‘patients.’
“I asked if they were handing out doctors’ excuses and a guy said yes and asked me if I needed one,” one woman told MNS Saturday. “When I told them I needed one for February 16 and 17th, he wondered if I wanted to come back here for the protests next week.”
What happened next surprised her.
“I said, ‘sure,’ and I received a doctor’s note for the 16th through the 25th of February, without a medical exam.”
If all the teachers in Milwaukee and Madison are paid for the days missed, the protest related salaries for just the state’s two largest districts would exceed $6.6 million dollars.
Using a figure of $100,005 for average teacher compensation in MPS and an average yearly workload of 195 days, these teachers cost approximately $513 per day in salary and benefits to employ. Spread over 5,960.3 full-time licensed teachers in the district, this adds up to $3,057,634 in daily expenses.
The average teacher’s total compensation in Madison is $74,912, according to the Department of Public Instruction. Each day costs $384.16 per teacher. The district has 2,370 teachers.
These figures don’t include administrators and support staff, many of which got an unexpected paid days off thanks to the week’s protests.
The issue extends far beyond Milwaukee and Madison, however. More than two dozen school districts were closed for at least one day last week as teachers called in sick to attend protests over the Budget Repair bill in Madison.
MNS is examining the total costs associated with those teachers’ salaries and will update this story when those figures are available.
LISTEN to Newsradio 620 WTMJ Milwaukee conservative Charlie Sykes over the Internet!
Click Here http://www.620wtmj.com/home/ondemand/44930432.html
The Republicans in the WI legisalture need to outlaw the unions. My understanding is that they could do this with no trouble. Why wait?
and the doctors who gave out sick ‘excuses’ need to be brought up on charges of fraud.
and the absentee legislators need to be canned.
And the pubbies in the halls of power, having enough to pass bills that do not involve funding, should get busy and pass everything they can while the Rats are out of state. Two can play that power game.
Protesting teachers hate kids and love greed.
Both the teacher and this shame 'doctor' need to be prosecuted for fraud.
Look at what the teachers are “teaching” our children about cheating by getting these “excuses”.
I think as the teachers miss even more days, the public anger towards them will really start to grow. It won’t simply be the Dem legislators on the run anymore.
Right now, Walker is the good guy- doing his best to save 12,000 jobs. The unions’ selfishness will ultimately be their undoing.
There is a need to summarize the significant past problems in dealing with WEAC (teachers union). Everyone knows that the DP supports wholeheartly the teachers union and gives away taxpayer money to them.
Here is a report from 2000 stating that WEAC controls 85% of the teacher’s health insurance without competition.
http://www.wpri.org/Reports/Volume13/Vol13no8.pdf page 20
The market for teachers’health insurance in Wisconsin is characterized by several traits. The health insurance is
determined through the collective bargaining process. The health insurance plans provided by the districts are rarely
put out to bid.37 The WEAInsurance Corporation, an entity affiliated with the state’s largest teachers union, provides
insurance coverage to roughly 85% of the districts. The peculiarities of this market suggest that competition between
insurers to write health insurance coverage is severely limited in most districts.
The current study reports the results of a statistical analysis that tested whether the WEAInsurance Corporation
charges more for health insurance coverage than other insurers. The analysis controlled for various factors believed
to be associated with the price of insurance coverage. The results suggest that the WEA Insurance Corporation does
charge more for its insurance product than other insurers. Possible explanations for this finding are that the WEA
Insurance Corporation provides more extensive insurance protection to those it insures, that it provides a higher level
of service to its customers, and that it derives market power from its affiliation with the WEA.
Reform that would foster competition in the market for teachers’ health insurance would serve the interests of
Wisconsin’s taxpayers and teachers. A model for reform is the health insurance pool for state employees. This is
administered by the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF), as is a similar pool available to Wisconsin public
employers. On a statewide basis, savings that could accrue to school districts through participation in the state
employee health insurance pool are estimated to be approximately $50,000,000 per year. If the savings were passed
to Wisconsin’s teachers, the average teacher in the state would receive a pay increase of $875.
Add it up, this is a form of political donation by the State and Local Governments to the Democratic Party.
This is why unions have to be dissolved in the Government.
I was watching some news program and heard the protesters chanting, “This is what democracy looks like” over and over. If this is what the teachers are teaching, then I can not begin to describe their stupidity. Democracy in action happened last November, they are trying to hijack the will of the electorate. Hence, they are currently screaming to enslave the electorate.
These fools are teaching.....
I would like to see the Walker admin face this sick pay fraud head on. It wouldn’t be that difficult to put an end to it. First of all, most of the teachers and any other state workers who would try to collect sick pay for picketing, belong to an HMO, which means they have a primary care physician. The first step in the process should be to compare the name of the doctor on the “excuse” to that of the primary care physician. If they differ, then the teacher/worker needs to be asked why they didn’t see their own doctor. And, they would need to show proof of payment to the non-plan doctor for the “visit” that generated the excuse.
“These fools are teaching.....”
Hugh Hewitt has an idea here I really like:
My friend Fritz suggests that the Wisconsin legislature also pass an emergency school voucher program. Any student who loses more than three days of school as a result of what the governor declares to be a labor-related school shutdown should be eligible for permanent voucher-recipient status that qualifies them for an annual education voucher equal to two-thirds the cost of the public education.
Watch the responsible parents flee the manipulation of their children by union organizers.”
I was thinking something similar this morning but wasn’t sure how to implement it. I like Hugh’s idea, thanks for posting.
taken directly from the fat pockets of the union leaders. Why can't teachers see how they are being taken for idiots and rubes by the union leaders?
In a heartbeat. My daughters will be HS Seniors next year. I would love some options for completing their education in a way that will allow them to graduate and continue on to college.
I would think all those out “sick” could simply be suspended without pay for the days of their “illnesses”. If you’re gonna bust a union, then bust it.
Beyond belief! The tax payers have been screwed royally by these unions. Ban them. Ban them NOW!!!
Absolutely agree. The teachers should be forced to provide proof of a visit to a doctor’s office - including date and time. And the doctor should need to provide proof that the “patient” visited their office.
And then let’s compare that with the time stamp on some of their video. Let’s see how happy those lab-coated charlatans would be when they’re hauled in front of the medical boards.
And the teachers should be summarily fired. Reagan did it with PATCO, and since all I’ve been hearing is the poor teachers have been laid off, Wisconsin can pass legislation granting credentials to any teacher from another state to come to Wisconsin to work.
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