UPDATED Monday, November 12, 2012 --- 11:05 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A new study shows the contentious cuts to teachers' benefits pushed by Gov. Scott Walker last year offset about two-thirds of the reductions to school revenue.
The report by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance shows school districts across Wisconsin collectively cut spending on health and pension benefits by about $287 million in the 2011-2012 academic year as the result of cuts to public worker benefits and limits on collective bargaining.
The alliance found the benefit cuts offset about 64 percent of the $451 million decrease in revenue for school districts that was imposed to help balance the budget passed by Republican lawmakers last year.
The analysis used data from the more than 420 Wisconsin school districts collected by the state Department of Public Instruction, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (http://tinyurl.com/a5bkhjr) reported.
------
Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
