1,446 Teachers left the classrooms in 3/4 of the states districts.

Well, at least Scott Walker didn't have to lay any teachers off, blah, blah, blah....

jsonline: The number of teachers in Wisconsin's public schools declined by 1,446 positions, or 2.4%, during the 2011-'12 school year, the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance says in two reports that will be released Monday. The report found that of the state's 424 districts, 107 added teachers, 125 had reductions of less than 2.5%, another 94 districts reduced teaching staff between 2.5% and 5%, and 98 sustained cuts of 5% or more.

That tips the scale toward a huge loss of teachers, in most districts.

Average benefits statewide for teachers declined more than 16% this year ... Teacher retirements apparently rose, with average teaching experience declining to 14.15 years in 2011-'12. Last year, average experience statewide was 14.81 years. Student-teacher ratios rose from 14.1 last year to 14.4 in 2011-'12.

2012-13 will continue the downsizing, because a free public education is now run like a business that cares more about the bottom line than spending more to improve the product. And guess who's left off the hook if things go wrong? Republican politicians pushing this. Hey, it's the private sector, talk to them.