Teachers in the Madison School District are objecting to a base wage increase lower than what many school districts in Dane County and around the state are offering for the coming school year as inflation compounds financial uncertainty.

The Madison School District and Madison Teachers Inc. began their collective bargaining process at the beginning of May for the coming year with two different ideas for base wage increases for teachers.

The union asked for a 4.7% base wage increase — the annual inflationary amount and the maximum allowed in bargaining under Wisconsin's Act 10 law. The district offered a 2% increase — not including the additional wage increase tied to experience and educational attainment, known as steps and lanes.

By mid-May the district, apparently by mistake, had sent out contracts to teachers with a base wage lower than what they were making in the current school year, which union leader Jeff Knight called “unfortunate” and an action that felt “like a provocation to staff." The district later apologized for the discrepancy and reissued contracts but the amount on those contracts was unsatisfactory, union president Mike Jones said.

On Monday, more than 150 members and supporters of MTI rallied at the Doyle Building, the district's administrative office, ahead of May's regular School Board meeting, to call for a 4.7% increase in base wages for salary staff and a $5 per hour increase for hourly employees.

They marched around the building chanting "Hey...

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