Wis. Labor Bill Could Vex District-Union Relations

Rick Hill, left, president of Wisconsin's DeForest Area School District teachers' union, and Superintendent Jon Bales are trying to work through the labor and emotional upheaval brought about by Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial plan to strip teachers and other public workers of collective bargaining rights.

—Adam Ryan Morris for Education Week

By Sean Cavanagh

DeForest, Wis.

One recent Wednesday night, Superintendent Jon Bales received a pair of phone calls at home that dismayed but did not surprise him.

The president of the local teachers' union called him with updates from the state Capitol, a short drive away in Madison, Wis. Dozens of teachers from the DeForest Area School District had joined the burgeoning protests there, Rick Hill told him, and many educators were unlikely to report to work the next day.

Mr. Bales soon realized he would have to call off school. That night, the two men—who are on friendly terms—worked out an agreement. Teachers in the district would not call in sick, but would make up the lost time by working a day they were scheduled to have off. Mr. Bales began calling administrators and arranging outreach to parents, whose plans for the next...