The outer limits

The Waukesha Taxpayer League has come out with a new study looking at the Waukesha School District's teachers' salaries under the QEO law. before your eyes glaze over, the numbers they present are pretty shocking.

The QEO law is designed to keep compensation for teachers growing at the more modest 3.8%. If a school district makes an offer at that level at contract renewal time, the school district and the teachers' union can avoid going to arbitration. The unions hate this law, as they were doing much better under arbitration.

What the Waukesha Taxpayer League study shows:

• Salary increases between the 2002/03 and 2003/04 school years ranged from .99% to 49.20%.? The average increase was 6.89%.

• Salary increases between the 2003/04 and 2004/05 school years ranged from 0% to 47.61%.? The average increase was 4.58%.

• Salary increases between 2004/05 and 2005/06 school years ranged from 1.54% and 48.84%.? The average increase was 6.79%.

This does not include benefits, and is not the result of teachers changing jobs. It's a public school system, so you can eliminate merit pay as a factor as well. The salary increases are primarily the result of educational credit and longevity. Keep these numbers in mind when the Waukesha School system announces the layoffs of teachers' aides and the cancellation of some programs.