Don't try calling instead file your claim on the WI UI website. That will make it a lot easier and therefore reduce your tension headaches. Believe me I know. Hang in there.

Yeah, do it online. They'll call you if they have any issues with it. I had to do that too when I lived in WI. Then moved out of state to find a job...

I just looked at the unemployment rate in PR. It was 9.5% in 2008 and rose steadily to 17.3% in April 2010. Now it's 16.1%.

This does not reflect the same dynamics that are in MO. It shows a stagnant economy. Not an economy that's sinking as it is in MO.

Oops. Wisconsin!

There were a number of you out of staters that voted during the recall elections using the hotel as your address. Please people, google it if you don't believe me. Don't make me do your work.

Someday I will figure out why those who have wielded so much power feel so victimized that they have to make up their own facts to justify their fears. I realize it has something to do with denying your own faults and projecting them onto others, but I've never been able to figure out how to do that and still have a little self respect.

Please people, google it if you don't believe me. Don't make me do your work.

Really, @contessa61? You posted the comment. Do your own frakking work.

If you make the argument, you back it up with quotes and links. Otherwise you are asking US to do YOUR work. I personally never expect anyone to take my word for any argument I make. Sometimes I'm wrong and I don't mind being corrected, but I generally back up what I say. Do you likewise Contessa.

I tried pasting the link but it does not work. Look up Media Trackers....Three out of state SEIU activists registered to vote from hotel. I live in Wisconsin and this is what i have read.

OH. MY. GOD!!! 3 People!!!!!!??!?!?!
Out of how many registered voters?
Were they living in that hotel long enough to qualify to be a wisconsin resident and vote?
Did they have current in state IDs, but moved out of state and didn't officially apply for residency in that state yet, so they came back and voted with their current, valid, ID?
How does that correlate into a percentage?
How does that percentage compare to the population voting at large for any election?

YOU do your own damn work and get back to us when you have some amount of sanity to spew from whatever orifice that your "intellect" comes from.

I say again: Contessa is an eap in sheep's clothing.....

Contessa, you don't get to come here, say stupid stuff and then insist we do your fact-checking.

"Their support for business is all about profits for the owners"

Wonderful assessment. Without profits, where would the business be? Where would increased reveneues to the state be. Where would increased employment be? Thank god we have politicians that care about corporate profits. Every liberal needs to take an economics course before they open their mouth.

Contessa, take your title and your hasty generalizations back to Republicanland where down is up. No one denies business people the right to make a fair profit, but unfortunately Adam Smith was right when he wrote the Wealth of Nations, business people will do whatever they can, moral or not, legal or not to maximize profit. We institute rules to curb those tendencies that some folks have to take advantage of the misfortune of others. But in Republicanland its caveat emptor, take all you can grab now because when you die its not that you cease to exist, its that the world ceases to exist. Isn't that the basis of your Ayn Rand justified greed and planetary destruction in the name of maximizing profit?

Has anyone else noticed titles for bills mean the opposite?

Job-killing in Republican-speak means job-improvement in the real world.

Yes I have noticed that too, although I am not too sure if that's a Republican thing or a political thing, but it is unnerving.

Every liberal needs to take an economics course before they open their mouth.

I love how people say this as if economics is some finite subject w/ 100% agreement on approaches to dealing w/ the economy. I especially love this when people make such a statement in an attempt to shout down someone who is advocating an economic policy position that would have been taught in a first year macroeconomics class...Le sighs.

Allowing high school students to work 40 hours a week isn't stretching the child labor laws. It is giving the students the tools they need to help make up for the income their parents lost under Walker. Just like he gave the school districts the tools to cut teacher salaries after he cut state aids.

Careful Mouzer. People have been sent to Joy Camp for less than that to be Re-Educated.

Their support for business is all about profits for the owners"

Wonderful assessment. Without profits, where would the business be? Where would increased reveneues to the state be. Where would increased employment be? Thank god we have politicians that care about corporate profits. Every liberal needs to take an economics course before they open their mouth.

Sure corporations are making profits, now more than ever. But what increased revenues? There's a monster deficit going on. What increased employment? Sure the Job Creators live up to their name. They create jobs in China, India, Vietnam, Brazil, Thailand, Tiawan. But here in America? Not so much. Everybody needs American history classes. Everybody. Supplysiders trying so hard to recreate the boom of the 1920s and the keep reinventing the Great Depression. What about what pulled America out of the Great Depression? What about a domestic Marshall Plan? But NO! D: Then companies would have to employ Americans! Americans who pay taxes to the American gov't, unlike factory workers in China, India, Vietnam etc! Manufacturing has been supplanted by investment and finance for DECADES! AND THEY DON'T CREATE JOBS!

paplanner. do you have any links to back up what you say?

Adam Smith was right and our regulations help curb corporate greed. Republicans are not against regulations, just over-regulation. Please try to overcome your black and white thinking.

Don Q.

Do you have any links to back up what you say?

Lol, contessa is an eap in sheep's clothing.

Economics: The science of explaining tomorrow why the predictions you made yesterday didn't come true today.

Not sure why you want these links Contessa, but here you go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jungle

read those. they will explain paplanner's points quite well.
I don't have a link for republicanland, but I believe it's on a boat with Glenn Beck...

Contessa is eap.

Do you have any links to back up what you say?

These are called Chapters, out of American History books. Economic boom in 1920's based on "buying on the margin" and speculation, the Stock market crash of the '29 and the Great Depression because of same. 1930's New Deal, public works, World War 2 economic expansion fueled by deficit spending by the American federal gov't - greatest economic growth in history. Marshall Plan for Germany, reconstruction for Japan. Germany kept manufacturing/assembling sector, as did Japan. But Japan lost their economy though the same speculation and deregulation that crashed America's in '29, '87, and '07-'08.

America begins exporting manufacturing in wake of Marshall Plan and never stops, shuttering factories, leaving workers unemployed and shrinking markets at home for goods made abroad. And they STILL haven't made rthe connection. 1980's Reaganomics cuts social safety net, already burdened by unemployed, creates level of suffering in the inner-city worse than Great Depression, the crack cocaine epidemic is born and Nancy Reagan rides shot-gun in a tank outfitted w/battering ram. Deregulation, tax cuts, and speculation crash the stock market again, junk bonds force saving and loan bailouts - many lose their life savings. Sound familiar yet? Cold War + all the above introduce nation to multi-trillion dollar deficits.

Everything Reagan did Bush did on steroids and in some cases PCP. Bush doesn't just crash stock market, but leaves all of Wall Street in smouldering ruins requiring TARP to keep investors from defenestrating themselves. World would have been a better place if they had anyway. Cheney said that deficits don't matter so tax cuts, the wars and medicare expansion are all left off the budget for Obama to sort out. Surprise surprise, the nation is trillions in debt because suddenly deficits matter.

And no one is talking about bringing manufacturing jobs back to America. Germany is proof that it is possible to run a manufacturing based economy with a high standard of living - but no, we need to be more like China. What a sick joke.

Yes, it is eap. I remember now. For those playing at home, one of the more stellar things that eap1 had said is the he hopes that the US Gov't fails, that way when they quit printing greenbacks, his money will skyrocket in value, like baseball cards or something. All of this while claiming to be some kind of patriot. Genius!

Manufacturing has been leaving this country for decades.

Wisconsin almost lost Harley Davidson and Mercury Marine. Both were going to leave the state to right to work states. If the union has not made last minute concessions, Wisconsin would have been out of thousands of jobs, our unemployment rate would be much higher and it WOULD HAVE BEEN THE UNION'S FAULT.

There you go again with your Republicanland fantasies Contessa. Its all the workers fault, they were the ones who sucked the life out of a community until it was as profitable as moving to a right to work state. It seems its always the unions that have to make concessions, even as the corporate profits skyrocket. You seem to forget its corporate directors and management who make decisions not shareholders or employees. I'll give you some credit for having a grasp on reality when you realize that for at least 30 years there has been an organized, well funded, well planned and successful theft of the public treasury by the power elite of both political parties and their corporate masters. The capitalism that was taught in the public schools has been dying a slow death for 30 years and is taking its last dying breaths. Between the European debt crisis, the $600 trillion in unsecured debt floating around the world, the $7.7 trillion the federal reserve gave to the banks in secret and the growing understanding of the murder, theft and natural destruction necessary to support that crony capitalism, it doesn't have long to last. You cannot create wealth out of thin air, which is what our geniuses in the financial industry have been trying to do for 30 years. They managed to generate enormous profits, while at the same time generating an equal amount of debt, since their products created no real wealth. Part of that came home to roost in 2008-2009, the other shoe is about to fall shortly.

So, according to your story, the union made concessions and the companies did NOT leave? Thus saving jobs?

Oh, so the system of negotiations worked because the unions cared enough to make sure that their employers could make a profit by staying, right?

Ok, got it, the unions saved jobs, cool! I really don't see what you're kicking about then.

the union made concessions and the companies did NOT leave? Thus saving jobs?

Seems to me that the unions have been doing all the work in Wisconsin....public and private...

paplanner. but where are your links? your proof?

China became a first world nation in about 2006 when they completed the 3 gorges project, and now have boodles of excess cash.

Foxconn began building factories in Mexico in about 2002 (iPod, iPhone & iPad).

Chinese car quality and logistics improved significantly by about 2006.

Chinese car production has exploded.

Mexico is the largest foreign investment destination for Chinese companies.

I live in southern California, and most of the immigrants drive Toyota Tacoma pickups made in Baja California, so Japan is doing the same thing.

Many other countries are building factories in Mexico, and three reasons are cheap labor, improved infrastructure, and NAFTA (no US tariffs thanks to Bush #1).

US jobs migrated south of the border.

About 3 million immigrants left the US to go to Mexico following those jobs, and that collapsed the housing market.

I don't think labor unions are going to have much impact on this situation.

Crackhead,

Nope. Teachers in Oshkosh, Wisconsin got 90 days of sick leave per year accumulated. IOW, for every two years worked, they received one year of extra pay. Each state has different contracts. I know what goes on in my state.

Yeah, Contessa, you're right. however, the part you're leaving out is that that time off is for prolonged illness and disability as well. 3 months of disability seems perfectly reasonable to me. And it might take more than 10 days to treat cancer.

http://www.oshkosh.k12.wi.us/staff/sick_oea.cfm

HERE IT IS.
HERE IS THE NEW CONTRACT. The old one is italicized. It was changed immediately after Walker won he election. The old contract gves teachers 90 days of sick leave per year.

Now shaddup.

All teachers shall be guaranteed ninety (90) teaching days of income protection for each teaching contract year in the event of absences due to sickness or disability. Such income protection shall be prorated for teachers teaching less than full time

So that contract was negotiated between management and the union, right? So management agreed to that provision, right?

Now you shaddup.

Alright I do personally believe that we all engage in selective listening, but Contessa this is beyond selective. The counter-claim made to you was that there are sometimes variations depending on state rules, but that such extended period are usually only granted in times of sickness or disability. You then say "no union public workers get it and it's abused by teachers" of which you do not provide evidence of. Then someone calls you out on that, provides counter evidence of it's rarity, and then you tell everyone else to shut-up by proving the initial counter claim. Seriously?

Read the contract mousy. 90 days of leave for SICKNESS or disability. Why do you think they rushed to change it once Walker's bill passed? so no one would bring up their corrupt benefit.

3 months of pay for treating cancer is unreasonable contessa? how about three months off for a severed limb? you should probably get to keep your job after that happens, right? Or should you be fired on spot when your employer finds out you have cancer?

You also left out the provision where they couldn't "fake" their illness like you said they do.
The Board reserves the right to send an employee to a physician at district expense for an examination when deemed necessary. Such teacher will submit to such examination unless refusal is based on bona fide religious convictions.

Why do you hate educators, Contessa?

It is the middle class that pays the wages of the public employees who retire 10-15 years earlier with pensions that hardly contributed to. It is the middle class that gets no vote at the bargaining table when unions collude with politicians to get 90 days of annual accumulated sick leave per year for teachers in Oshkosh.

you do realize that public employees is a part of the Middle Class!

also can you maybe show just a little proof of such a claim.

thanks

@Contessa61

Public employees do not get to collect pensions 10 to 15 years earlier unless they are in Congress or state legislatures who have written those rules to allow it. The regular government employee cannot retire much earlier than private employees. I would also note that public employees are paid less salary than private and do not contribute or receive Social Security or Medicare unless they go to work in the private market for at least 10 years before they retire. Any private or government pension is calculated based on SS benefits so that you cannot collect more than what your salary was when employed. You need to stop watching Fox and get the info first hand. It may be hard for you to believe that Fox lies, but if you devote some effort to getting the real info, you can learn a lot of truths that you won't hear on Fox.

public employees who retire 10-15 years earlier with pensions that hardly contributed to

well maybe a firefighter or police officer, yes they may retire before there time. but 90% of the time it comes with major health problems.

Police and firefighters come under state and local laws regarding pensions. Only large cities pay big pensions because that is the only way to attract people for the jobs. It is a tradeoff of risks in the job with benefits. Smaller cities and towns do not pay generous benefits. But the question is would you want a 60+ year old firefighter or police officer responding to your emergency?

Would LOVE to see Walker do the perp-walk!

Seriously? You can't google this...Oshkosh teachers get 90 days of sick leave?

Also, police and fire employees can retire after 25 or 30 years. Teachers retire at 55. 60 year old police and firefighters can still work in the office. There are a lot of professions that are physically tiring in which people work until age 65. Also, teachers in Green Bay that are retired, can substitute teach for 2 weeks and get 1/3rd of their yearly salary. Would taxpayers vote for that? No. also, the highest paid city worker is/was the bus driver due to all the overtime given (spiking) before retirement. Should middle class workers pay higher taxes so public employees can spike their wage, double and sometimes triple dip, etc.

"contessa61

Seriously? You can't google this...Oshkosh teachers get 90 days of sick leave?

Also, police and fire employees can retire after 25 or 30 years. Teachers retire at 55. 60 year old police and firefighters can still work in the office...."

Sure, because no one in the private industry can get that much sick leave? Retirement does not mean they can collect their full pension. Some can collect a reduced pension. When I see average public employees other than legislators and managerial people, driving in new Porsche's, Lincoln Town cars, Lexus, etc., I will join you in protesting their high pay and benefits.

....private employees can retire as early as age 55 if they want to take a reduced pension or if they want to pay taxes on their 401k or other retirement savings plan. What is your point?

and how many private employees have pensions? How much did they contribute to that pension? How many private employees do you know that can afford to retire at 55? I thought so.

For some strange reason Contessa seems to equate unions with every evil she can think of. Apparently the victim of some youthful trauma involving evil unions.

Hey, Contessa,

Whose fault is it that private employees don't have pensions?

Yeah, it's the Corporations that dumped their pension plans in favor of 401k plans they don;t have to pay so much into to save money. Why don't you blame that on the companies whose fault it really is?

In short, it is NOT the fault of public employees that private corporations or companies don't pay for good pensions any more. Blame the right people and stop blaming those who have no part in your problems.

Lots of companies still give out pensions, but it is true that private sector pensions have been on the decline. I currently work for a business that offers both pension plans and matched 401k plans. The insurance company I worked for before this new job also offered the same, so there are some out there who will offer it. But this was not the point: the point was that both private and public employees can opt for early retirement. If a private employee does it, but does not have a pension plan, then the private employee will have to pay taxes on his/her 401k for the early w/drawl. If he/she has a pension plan provided by his/her employer then the employer will reduce the payment just as would happen in the public sector. Public sector employees do not get full retirement pension unless they serve out their term. Now in the case of firefighters and police officer I believe that's considered to be 20 years, whereas w/ teachers and other workers it's considered to be at least 30 years. Postal Workers (although they aren't at the state level) aren't allowed to retire w/ pension any earlier than 55 and between 55 and 65 they gain only half pay for their pension.

Your questions, Contessa, do not disprove anything I stated. In fact I think you were attempting to make a red herring argument, although it's hard to say when questions are asked. How many public sector employees do you know can afford to retire at age 55? I thought so. The logic works the same. When public sector employees retire early they suffer pension deductions. If you were going to be paid out 36k/yr in pension funds and you retire early you will only be making ~16k/yr (as an example). As far as how much a public employee contributes to their pension fund it depends on how much they individually choose to invest in that fund and what the mandate is from their paycheck. Public employees (and this is different from private employees) are mandated to contribute to their pensions, but the amount varies depending on if it's local, state, or federal and what subsequent job the person is doing. Some are mandated to contribute 5%, some 10%, some 15%. Like w/ private sector employees, public sector employees can choose to contribute more to their pension funds than the mandated amount. Unlike private sector employees they cannot choose to opt out. What is more private sector employees who do get to contribute to a pension typically have to contribute around 20-25% before the employer will match it. This means that the public sector is attempting to provide better incentive for it's working force.

And again I'm compelled to ask: what is your point here Contessa?

Contessa

How old are you and where do you get your ideas?

There is an early retirement penalty of 2%/year for federal retirement before age 65. Federal employees retire earlier when permanently disabled, but pension is reduced by 2% for every month under 55. You can retire from federal service with 20% pay after a minimum of 5 years of service, but only if declared disabled by 3 different physicians. These limits are the same for politicians, but elected officials do not need physician authorization for early retirement.

Teachers get 10 days of sick leave each year. If sick days are not used, they accumulate up to a maximum of 45 days. The numbers may vary between districts, but this is common across the whole US.

The 90 days you quoted for teachers is the contract clause commonly used for disability in most states.

Teacher pay is cut by 50% after sick leave is used up in order to pay the substitute, and you can come back to the same classroom for disability lasting 90 days or less. A replacement is assigned for the remainder of the school year if disability lasts longer.

Most districts terminate pay after 90 days unless the disability was caused on-the-job, but the teacher is restored to the classroom the following year if the disability no longer interferes with the job. Disability lasting one year or longer usually involves disability retirement, which is usually a combination of state retirement, social security, and medicare.

The information you cited is both malicious and false.

How many public employees can afford to retire at 55? Apparently quite a few in wisconsin where their pension was 100% funded by taxpayers and they paid only 6% premium on their cadilllac health care plan. Tons of teachers retired this year. And every time I meet someone young that is retired, 100% of the time they worked for the government.

contessa61

You seem to be literate, so I bet you benefited from a few dozen teachers.

Hardly makes sense you want to close schools and eliminate education after you got yours.

0% true on the retirement statistics.

Cutting public employee retirement ALWAYS makes government cost go up.

Public employee retirements skyrocket when someone gets elected that does not understand how this works. Retirement is never cut for retired employees because retired politicians are payed by the same retirement system as retired public employees.

Early retirement causes government to have to pay for retirement for a longer period of time at the same time they need to pay for a replacement employee. Retirement permanently locks the government into a contract with the employee that cannot be cut, so all public employees that can retire do so when politicians start trying to cut cost.

People are lying when they say they can save money by cutting retirement.

cutting public employee retirement always makes government cost go up....??? Do you have any examples to back that up? Cutting retirement costs in Wisconsin balanced our budget. We are in great financial shape. You are just looking out for your own greedy pocketbook.

We were actually in better financial shape before Walker took office, and we were on our way to have a $700m high speed rail, and an upgrade to existing rail lines paid for by the federal government, instead that cost got passed on to you to upgrade the existing lines, minus the cool speedy train. Cool that he denied the grant, then begged Obama for $140m for the same damn thing the grant was for to being with... smart guy, that Walker.
also, the part you're leaving out about sick leave is that that time off is for prolonged illness and disability as well. 3 months of disability seems perfectly reasonable to me. And it might take more than 10 days to treat cancer.

http://news.yahoo.com/california-high-speed-rail-cost-estimate-soars-193641386.html
Look at what high speed rail would have done.
Wisconsin went from a 3.6 billion dollar deficit to a balanced budget. The patient compensation fund is paid back as is our debt.
Oshkosh teachers got 90 days of sick leave per year, which could be accumulated and traded in for cash.

they could not be accumulated, you dolt. they were 90. period, and that included disability leave. you, ma'am, are a moron.

Do you know anything about business plans, Contessa? This is an Estimate, which is not a reflection of the actual cost. And the project is Estimated to be completely viable and profitable even at the lowest projected rider rate. Not to mention the employment benefits from the project.

• As many as 100,000 construction-related jobs each year that the system is being built
• The potential for 450,000 permanent new jobs statewide created by the economic growth high-speed rail will generate over the next 25 years
• Improved movement of people, goods and services
• Faster travel on the ground between major metropolitan areas
• Congestion relief on freeways and at airports

That sure would have sucked to have in Wisconsin between Minneapolis and Chicago, huh?

sorry not on twitter. at this time

I can't figure out how to use Twitter.

Twitter basics.

http://support.twitter.com/groups/31-twitter-basics#topic_109

seems bad huh.

so what is the population of those states? guessing bigger then Wisconsin.

so Wisconsin is not doing very well and it is a simple reason for that.

its Governor!

Unemployment is going up in Wisconsin while coming down in other states. The only thing that has changed is the party in power in Wisconsin. Can you draw a straight line from point A to point B?

When dealing with percentages, what difference does the population of that state make? Add math to that economics course.

9% unemployment in this country. Everyone complains how Bush II did poor in job creation. But when the average unemployment rate under Bush was 5.4% there are not many people looking for a job, and therefore less job creation. When you have a 9% unemployment rate, there is much more room for job creation.. The most important number is the unemployment rate. Wisc. unemployment rate will not go down until we get this bozo out of the white house.

Contessa your second point contradicts your first. If population and percentage of annual growth must be considered then you cannot make a blanket comparison between California, Virginia, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Le sighs.

population was never considered. If you read what i wrote, I am only dealing in percentages.

Look Contessa, you are entitled to your opinions, you are even entitled to make up your facts in Republicanland, but in the real universe facts are something that have to be verified. So if you are going to try to make an argument supporting your opinions, at least use verifiable facts rather than what you heard on Fox.

You can verify anything i wrote if you are not too lazy to look it up.

Contessa: thank you for confirming that your first and second point contradict. If you state that blanket percentage comparisons cannot be made because of various factors then making such comparisons w/o including those factors is a contradiction.

contessa61

You can verify anything i wrote if you are not too lazy to look it up.

Sorry, this is one of the symptoms of the dreaded disease of "pretty much got nothing"...

One contributing factors for a toilet-bowl economy is a stationary or declining population.

Wisconsin population is stationary except in those counties where it is declining.

That's because we're being forced to move out of stat to find jobs. I had to do it.

Recalling him will help get him out of office. Joe is a Republican. Of course he against the recall.

from other reports ive read what he did has helped their budget....When that info is documented and Shown to the people will the recall work? Here in Oregon and Wa state they have stopped free medical as well as many welfare programs. Rachel wont post on what Gregoire has had to do cause shes a Dem. Dem Governors are canceling the same programs yet youll never hear it on Rachels show.

Here in Oregon and Wa state they have stopped free medical as well as many welfare programs.

dont know about WA. but i live here in Oregon, just wondering if you can show what they have stopped?

Here :)

....people, seriously, if you don't watch TRMS on a regular basis then don't comment on the blog. You just make yourself sound like an idiot when you start making claims like "Rachel will never report on a Democratic Governor doing something wrong!" Le sighs.

Massachusettes Democratic politicians are trying to curb union benefits and so is Rahm Emmanuel in Chicago. When the biggest part of the budget is employee salary and benefits and they are making more than their private sector counterparts, then the obvious becomes even more obvious.

Obama sitting on his hands during the union stripping battles is one reason for massive disaffection among Democrats. Rahm Immanuel is on the wrong side of this. It was union jobs that provided for the pension and retirement of the Greatest Generation. Union busting and the evaporation of these benefits was a triumph of the Reagan White House. Busted unions opened the way, among other things, for meat packers to be replaced by undocumented workers. Yay Reagan!

"they are making more than their private sector counterparts, then the obvious becomes even more obvious."
not true, I make half or what my private sector videographer/audio engineer/IT counterparts make, but I enjoy working for a school and helping educate students.

But he has energized the Dems and progressives, in and outside of Wisconsin, so we should thank him for that aftereffect.

Madison—One month after the 2011-13 state budget was signed into law, tangible results from the reforms put in place by Governor Walker and the Legislature are being realized.  According to media reports, local units of government and school districts have already saved more than $220 million, with millions more in potential savings not yet reported.   

Reference: http://www.ashlandwi.com/articles/2011/07/18/news/doc4e24f08b80b26580859031.txt

Kimberly School District

The district saved $821,000 by dropping WEA Trust. 

Reference: http://maciverinstitute.com/2011/07/wisconsin-school-districts-are-switching-health-care-providersplans-to-create-savings-in-2011/

Edgerton School District

The district will drop the union's current health insurance carrier, the WEA Trust. The district is gathering bids to change to a different health insurance provider, which Pauli said could save at least $500,000 over the next year.

Reference:

http://gazettextra.com/news/2011/mar/15/edgerton-reaches-teacher-contract/

Baraboo School District

The Baraboo School Board expects to save about $660,000 next year after deciding to change insurance providers Monday evening.

Reference:https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:24830.9327959424/rid:4f6670a3bc5ed1258448c884029069d8

Dodgeland School District

The Dodgeland School Board made the decision to change insurance companies.

Administrator Annette Thompson said the change will help the board deal with the expected $640,000 budget deficit from reduced state aid and expiration of some federal and AARA funds.  The change in providers is expected to save the district $260,000 next year.

Reference: http://www.wiscnews.com/bdc/news/local/article_a5dddeb8-b412-11e0-949a-001cc4c03286.html

Elmbrook School District

The district originally had planned for $780,000 in savings through the health-care changes, but Brightman said the actual savings are estimated at $878,000. He said some of that money likely will be needed to pay for staffing - probably a half-time equivalent clerical position - to administer the new plan.

Reference: http://www.brookfieldnow.com/news/125863413.html

Mequon-Thiensville School District

Delta Dental's quotes also came in lower than those provided by WEA Trust. Beaudry said the district will save $49,000 in the 2011-12 budget cycle by switching to Delta Dental.

Reference: http://www.mequonnow.com/news/125861078.html

Marshfield School District

Marshfield will balance its budget despite the cuts.  "Given the cost savings with health insurance and the turnover with staff and new hires, we will be able to preserve our programs and come up with a balanced budget," said Peg Geegan, the district's director of instruction who will assume the superintendent's position Aug. 1. The district will save $850,000 by switching health insurance carriers…

Reference: http://www.marshfieldnewsherald.com/article/20110706/MNH0101/107060599/State-aid-Marshfield-schools-down-2-4-million?odyssey=tab|topnews|img|FRONTPAGE

Fond du Lac School District

District leaders believe when school starts in the fall they'll be operating with a balanced budget. They say the savings under the bill will offset their 4.4 million dollar budget shortfall. Class sizes and programs will also remain in tact.  

References:

http://www.nbc26.com/news/local/126364503.html andhttp://www.fdlreporter.com/article/20110728/FON0101/110727143/FdL-School-District-expects-balanced-budget

City of Sheboygan and Sheboygan County

City of Sheboygan Mayor Bob Ryan and Sheboygan County Administrator Adam Payne said the collective bargaining reforms will provide enough savings to make up for the reductions in state aid.  "We were able to lock in savings and certainty due to the discussions going on in Madison," Payne said.

Reference: http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/20110629/SHE0101/306290007/Special-Report-s-new-world-public-employee-pay?odyssey=tab|topnews|img|SHE-News

Wauwatosa School District

The tax levy is projected to decrease, no programs will be cut, and class sizes won’t increase by any significant measure.  School board member Phil Kroner: "When students come to school in the fall, they're going to see the same things, have the same teachers, and they're going to see new things as well.

Reference: http://wauwatosa.patch.com/articles/school-board-quietly-passes-budget-based-on-sacrifice

Manitowoc

Laid-off city workers may get their jobs back after the city moves forward with the wage and benefit reforms contained in the budget.  And Overtime rules have changed saving the county $100,000.

References: http://www.htrnews.com/article/20110706/MAN0101/107060474/Some-laid-off-city-workers-rehired-month?odyssey=tab|topnews|img|FRONTPAGE andhttp://www.htrnews.com/article/20110720/MAN0101/107200527/Overtime-rules-changed-Manitowoc-County-employees?odyssey=tab|topnews|img|FRONTPAGE

Pittsville

They will see up to a 9% decrease in the school portion of their property tax levy.  "It will be wonderful for our taxpayers, who have been extremely committed to our schools," School Board President Julie Strenn said, noting three years ago, voters approved a three-year revenue cap override that cost taxpayers an additional $175,000 each year…  "This is the first year we have not needed to short-term borrow.”

Reference: http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/article/20110615/WRT0101/106150626/Pittsville-Schools-OK-preliminary-budget?odyssey=tab|topnews|img|FRONTPAGE

Neenah

Paul Hauffe, director of business services said, “administrators are poised to introduce a balanced budget in mid-July… We're very close right now, there's nothing monumental that we have to overcome." 

Reference: http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20110706/APC0902/107060619/Neenah-settles-teachers-amid-collective-bargaining-changes

Appleton Area School District

They will save $3.1 million just in health insurance costs alone due to competition among health insurance providers.  Financial advisors for the school district said:

·        Discussions at the state level over collective bargaining and budgeting issues have been beneficial to school districts from the rate perspective.

·        It forced a lot of competition. I do think the landscape in the school marketplace has changed significantly over the last year that's put significant pressure on WEA Trust. Previously to this year, they didn't have a lot of competition. Historically, it's very difficult for other carriers to match them.

·        The $3.1 million in savings for next school year is just in health insurance premium costs.

Reference: http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20110622/APC0101/106220521/Appleton-schools-retains-WEA-Trust-insurance?odyssey=tab|topnews|img|APC-News

Racine County

Inmates can do routine maintenance tasks so that county employees can spend more time working on projects that improve the community.  County Executive Jim Ladwig said inmates will be able to perform more tasks such as landscaping, painting, and shoveling sidewalks in the winter.  “We have a win-win when we use the inmates,” Ladwig said. “It gives them a sense of value they are helping the community.” At the same time, he said it will help the county maintain property that has been neglected.

References: http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_97bd5d58-a243-11e0-b2f9-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1QfPqQxvR and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGn4zUXlbkE

Kaukauna School District

They will hire additional teachers, reduce projected class sizes from 26 to 23 students at the elementary level, 28 students to 26 students at the intermediate/middle level, and 31 students to 25 students at the high school level and set aside money for merit bonuses for good teachers.  “Due to the law change the District’s projected operating budget has moved from a negative $400,000 to approximately a positive $1,500,000.  Earmarked in the operating budget are $300,000 related to merit pay, a program being explored for all staff by the district for the 2011-2012 school year.”

References: http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20110630/APC0101/106300455/Story-documents-Kaukauna-schools-project-1-5M-surplus?odyssey=nav|head and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQQFWS6-8xE

Hartland-Lakeside School Board

They switched insurance providers and saved taxpayers $690,000.

Reference: http://www.jsonline.mobi/blogs/news/124823204.html?ua=blackberry&dc=smart&c=y

@David1830107

Of course, the info you posted comes straight from the governor's office web site which is a disinterested party and would never post misleading statistics and facts.

Except for all the other links to the schools themselves ect...?

Private companies frequently change health insurers to new lower cost carriers. But that always means less coverage and higher premiums for the employees who buy the insurance. The health insurance savings is illusory when take into consideration what changes beside the premiums that employers/employees pay. Less premiums always come with lesser coverage. Also, the changes in health insurance are not necessarily linked to the governor's law about collective bargaining. Some communities are free to change health insurers without resorting to the collective bargaining law. I don't see any posts from those government officials attributing the changes to the law. And health insurance changes are the bulk of your post.

David 1830107:

Governor Walker's claims about the effects on the Hudson, WI school district and local taxpayers resulting from the 2011-13 Wisconsin state budget and budget repair bill are examples of misleading, if not outright lying, through omission.

The Hudson School District, which serves the area where my family lives, was listed in Governor Walker's 9/30/11 press release and at the Governor's office website you referenced, David, as an example of how a local school district and local taxpayers benefit under the 2011-13 state budget and budget repair bill. To support this claim, Governor Walker cited an 8/10/11 article from the Hudson Star Observer, our local paper, that reported the Hudson School District anticipated an estimated $1.1 - 1.2 million annual cost savings from switching health insurance carriers and changing health insurance benefits for local school staff.

Governor Walker conveniently omitted the additional facts, as also reported in the Hudson Star Observer on 7/13/11, 7/21/11, and 9/21/11, that:

Property owners in the Hudson School District will see at least an additional two-percent (2%) increase in the property tax levy for the Hudson School District under the 2011-13 state budget and budget repair bill;

The Hudson School District is unable to recoup the $2.6 million in state funding cuts it suffered—despite making budget adjustments by increasing staff contributions for retirement accounts and health insurance, getting competitive bids for staff health insurance, allowing no increases in staff salaries and benefits for union or nonunion employees, cutting forty (40) staff positions, recognizing savings from staff retirements and attrition, cutting operating costs, cutting transportation costs, and increasing student fees; and as a result,

Under the 2011-13 state budget and budget repair bill, the Hudson School District will be able to provide less to students in the next and future years, but will be able to do so at a higher cost to local taxpayers.

But the list keeps growing in general. If the people choose to recall him that is the people speaking. What if since there are millions going to vote if hes not recalled will we have to hear weeks of Whining?

Yep, lots of savings when you cut staff, cut benefits, cut services and increase welfare to corporations. If your priorities are to maximize profits for your friends and donors at the cost of reducing public services, putting thousands out of work, raising local property taxes and generally restricting voting rights and civil liberties, then Governor Walker has by all means been a success. With that kind of success who in the hell needs failure.

Reducing the amount of money you spend by eliminating services is not the same thing as saving money by increasing efficiency while improving quality.

Just working on things that are important instead of just blindly going through the motions is a much better alternative.

Never underestimate the will of the people. Its not just progressives or liberals or union members that Walker has angered. Judging from a distance the only elected official in the U.S. who is less respected and more hated than Walker is Mayor Bloomberg, and that will wear off soon and Walker will be back on top. You can't screw a whole state, be happy about it, get caught conspiring to play juvenile pranks, lie about your lack of accomplishments, and generally be an ass without pissing a few people off, and Walker managed to do all of it in less than a year, that is one incredible record for incompetence and poor planning.

People on both sides of the politics are looking at cause and effect and selectively using data to bolster their arguments. Neither side will concede the economy is far more complicated because that would mean telling voters the truth. And truth is the first casualty in politics.