Turnover Among Wisconsin's Public Teachers the Highest in at Least 15 Years

Tuesday, August 15th, 2023 -- 12:00 PM

(AnnMarie Hilton, Appleton Post-Crescent) Turnover among Wisconsin public school teachers is the highest it's been in at least 15 years, with teachers leaving the profession at rates not seen since the passage of Act 10, according to a new report from The Wisconsin Policy Forum.

According to AnnMarie Hilton with the Appleton-Post Crescent, the statewide nonpartisan research organization analyzed public school staffing data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction going back to 2009.

It examined nearly 116,000 teachers at about 450 school districts and other K-12 entities for a new report released Tuesday. In the study, turnover was broken into two categories. Teachers fell into the “moves” category when they moved from one Wisconsin school district to another.

They fell into the “leaves” category when they were present in the data one year, but not at all the next year. In every year studied, more teachers left the profession than moved to different districts. This could be due to a number of factors, from baby boomer retirements to resignations from increasing politicization, the report said.

Wisconsin public schools are also facing declining enrollment, which could force some districts to eliminate positions, but it’s unlikely that was a substantial factor in so many teachers leaving the profession, the report added.

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