Republicans Remove QEO Repeal From Budget

Republican legislative leaders Thursday (April 17, 2003) removed from the state budget bill a provision that would repeal the Qualified Economic Offer law.

WEAC officials said the action is not final and the QEO repeal could be re-inserted later. However, it will take a great deal of persuasion and lobbying on the part of educators and other supporters of quality public education.

The Republicans cited a memo from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau in arguing that repeal of the QEO and other collective bargaining changes in the budget are non-spending items and do not belong in the budget bill. They said the matter should be considered next fall by a task force that Governor Doyle will appoint to examine school funding.

While WEAC was very disappointed by this action, it was not a surprise, said WEAC President Stan Johnson.

"Thursday's action was just one move in a process that will present many opportunities for the Legislature to repeal the QEO. In the end, the Legislature must send a budget to the governor that he will sign into law," Johnson said.

Governor Doyle issued the following statement shortly after the announcement: “I am disappointed, however, that the Joint Finance Committee chose to remove my proposal to eliminate the Qualified Economic Offer. The QEO hamstrings school districts across Wisconsin, and has made it very difficult for many schools to attract and retain good teachers. As a result of this failed system, teacher salaries in Wisconsin have fallen well below the national average. After months of saying that the QEO has a major fiscal impact on school budgets, the committee is now saying that it has no fiscal impact. This is pure politics, and it will deprive our children of the quality teachers they deserve."

WEAC will continue to call upon legislators to do the right thing and repeal the QEO as a first step toward a fairer system of funding schools.

Members are encouraged to let their legislators know how the QEO law is affecting them, their families, their schools, and the children they teach. The OnWEAC Cyberlobby, located in the Members Only section, provides background information and links members to the e-mail addresses of their legislators.

Resource page on the Qualified Economic Offer law
Resource page on 2003-05 state budget

Posted April 21, 2003