District Info
Career Prospect: 
Dead End Job

Lafayette County

County Seat: 
Darlington
WCA District: 
Southern

Teachers are truly the nicest, kindest people in the world; generous to a fault looking to improve their students’ lives, often at the expense of their own lives and their families. For these truly wonderful people, accepting a teaching position in a county filled with MAGA cult members is a major culture shock.

We created this website to tell the stories of the many ways that Act 10 upended teachers’ lives and careers since 2011. These are stories that the Mainstream Media Bosses have intentionally ignored. Wisconsin’s Mainstream Media has supported the Republican Dictatorship that has ruled Wisconsin since 2011 through active suppression of reporting on how Act 10 decimated 50 years of improvements in teachers’ lives and working conditions. The Mainstream Media has endorsed many Republican politicians that keep the Wisconsin Republican Dictatorship alive and well.

Teaching and living in this county requires one to be comfortable with being treated as a second class citizen at best, and more likely shunned as a pariah by the majority of your neighbors. Many of your neighbors will be angry Trump-worshipping bullies who are still pissed at teachers for the closing of schools for 2 months at the beginning of the pandemic  Most of your neighbors give 100% support to Republican candidates who have worked to defund public education and punish teachers for making kids wear masks when in-person classes resumed.  

Before the majority of your neighbors in this county joined the Trump cult, they were “Standing With Walker” to smack teachers around from 2011 to 2018. Due to Act 10 wiping out 50 years of improvement in teacher working conditions and employment protections, thousands of teachers in counties across Wisconsin lost their jobs and careers.

Most of your neighbors will be MAGA Republicans who are strong supporters of the Wisconsin Republican Dictatorship that slashed over 4 BILLION dollars in state aid to public schools since 2011-the largest cuts to public schools in America, while giving the largest state tax dollar funding increases in America to private and religious schools that carefully select and retain their students in order to keep the “more costly to educate” (handicapped & disabled) students out.

Wisconsin is the only state in America without tenure or collective bargaining protections keeping teachers from being unjustly terminated or non-renewed. Since 2011, hundreds of teachers in Republican controlled Wisconsin counties have been non-renewed or terminated as retribution for signing a petition to recall Governor Walker, or making a Facebook post or posting a lawn sign supporting a Democratic candidate. 

Before you accept one of the thousands of open teaching positions in Wisconsin, we hope that you will give careful consideration to leaving Wisconsin for numerous other places in America(like our neighbors in Minnesota & Illinois) that appreciate and welcome high quality teachers to become productive residents of their state and boost their states’ economies far ahead of Wisconsin’s stagnant economic growth since Act 10 was imposed in 2011 by the Republican Dictatorship that still rules Wisconsin.

Since 2011, thousands of great teachers and administrators have enjoyed significant career advancement by leaving Wisconsin. We think that you will too.

Political Environment
2016 Election: 
52% Trump
2018 Election: 
51% Walker
2020 Election: 
56% Trump
COVID Rate: 
54% Fully Vaccinated
Money Stolen From This District's Taxpayers to Fund School Vouchers Across Wisconsin
Latest Available Data: 2022-23 School Year: 
$0
The Republican Dictatorship that rules 'Wisconsin has underfunded public schools since 2011 while giving the largest funding increases in America to private & parochial voucher schools.
Average Teacher Salaries
2010-2011 Average Salary: 
$47,648
2022-23 Projected Salary at 26.3% Inflation Rate: 
$60,179
2022-23 Average Salary: 
$50,254
Average Teacher Salary Performance
WERC Inflation Rate Since July 2011 : 
26.3
Real Salary Change: 
5.5%
2022-23 Purchasing Power Change : 
$-9,925

LaFayette County is filled with MAGA Trump supporters who were Standing With Walker  to trash teachers and public education from 2011 to 2018. This county is filled with mostly small school districts that pay so little that many teachers qualify for state and federal anti-poverty programs.

Average teacher salaries in this county range from $45,645 to $57,745.  We rated EVERY school district in this county as a DEAD END job as far as career potential.  While not as good as Minnesota, many Wisconsin teachers could see $10,000 pay raises or more by migrating to the higher salaries and better schools located in northern Illinois. 

The increase in average teacher salaries for the Belmont school district was 5.5% which was far below the inflation rate. The average teacher salary was one of the lowest in the County at $50,254. 

Looking at the record of teacher salary increases for this district, and the extreme pro-Trump voting patterns of the county, we cannot recommend any teachers to accept a teaching job in this district/county when the opportunity exists earn an immediate increase of $10,000 or more, with FAR better working conditions and career growth potential by driving 25 miles to teach in northern Illinois. 

Estimated Average Teacher Income Loss Since 2011 From Act 10
$138,494

The Republican Dictatorship that has Ruled Wisconsin Since 2011 has underfunded public schools by over 4 Billion dollars in order to provide massive tax cuts to the wealthiest individual taxpayers and big business and manufacturers by severely reducing teacher salaries & benefits.

Superintendent Earnings
2010-2011 Superintendent Salary: 
$0
2022-23 Projected Salary at 26.3% Inflation Rate : 
$0
2022-23 Superintendent Salary: 
$121,000
Superintendent Salary Performance
WERC Inflation Rate Since July 2011 : 
26.3
Real Salary Change: 
0.0%
2022-23 Purchasing Power Change: 
$0
Ten Year Teacher Salaries
Median 2020-2021 First Year Teacher Salary: 
$0
Projected Ten Year Salary in 2020-21: 
$0
Median 2020-2021 Ten Year Teacher Salary: 
$0
Ten Year Teacher Salary Performance
10 Year WERC Inflation Rate: 
26.3
Real Salary Change : 
0.0%
Real Purchasing Power Change*: 
$0

Looking at the record of teacher salary increases for this district, and the extreme pro-Trump voting patterns of the county, we cannot recommend any teachers to accept a teaching job in this district/county when the opportunity exists earn an immediate increase of $10,000 or more, with FAR better working conditions and career growth potential by driving 25 miles to teach in northern Illinois. 

We base this recommendation on the actual 2021 average salary of under $50,000, and both the average and ten year teacher salary increase percentage. With an 2021 average teacher salary of under $50,000, a likely a significant percentage of teachers with families qualify for federal anti-poverty programs. In the ten year period from 2011-2021, the average teacher salary in this district has increased by less than 5%, which is significantly below the inflation rate.

At a time when there is a severe teacher shortage in Wisconsin, we cannot understand why any teacher would stay in a district like this when there are so many better opportunities available, both inside Wisconsin and across the border in Illinois.