Act 10 Ruling Leads to 'Hurry Up and Wait' Approach in Shorewood

Municipal and school district leaders are left pondering, "What's next?" after Friday's ruling that the state’s collective bargaining law is unconstitutional.

Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas' ruling on Act 10 came out of the blue and at a time when municipalities and school districts are in the middle of budget planning for the next fiscal year, or putting the finishing touches on budgets.

School District Superintendent Martin Lexmond said like many school district across the state, Shorewood is in "wait and see mode."

"We’re paying attention to any new information about how to respond," Lexmond added.

The teacher's union has been in contract negotiations with the district, and Lexmond said he hasn't been approached by rank-and-file members of the Shorewood Education Association and asked to expand the talks past wages, unlike at least one union in the state.

With state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen saying he will ask a court to put the ruling on hold while he prepares an appeal, Village Manager Chris Swartz echoed Lexmond's comments, saying the village would wait and see what the end result is.

Shorewood will start budget workshops Monday, and while under the current ruling Swartz said there would be some financial impact, it's unclear what that might look like right now.

The law, championed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker to address public budget problems, curtails most collective bargaining rights for public workers.