According to a DPI report, only 68% of education graduates end up working in a Wisconsin school district.
MONDOVI (WQOW) -Â A new report is raising alarms about the state of Wisconsin's education workforce.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's report details a teacher retention crisis. According to the document, roughly four out of ten first-year teachers either leave the profession or the state within six years.
Additionally, only 68% of education graduates end up working in a Wisconsin school district.
The teacher retention crisis affects the Chippewa Valley too. The School District of Mondovi used to get well over 100 applicants for a position, now they receive only around 10 applications.
One of the issues — according to Mondovi superintendent Jeff Rykal — is pay.
"We look at what sort of things can we do to keep teachers in the district, part of that is you're always, "Keeping up with the Joneses" in all the neighboring districts of comparing what our starting salary is at," Rykal said. "We neighbor Eau Claire and we've got Elk Mound to the north of us, we can't keep up with their salary schedule."
Rykal said starting pay for teachers in Mondovi was around $44,000 in 2023, Eau Claire's was $49,185.
One of the options to increase pay are operational referendums, which a large number of school districts pursued this spring. However, Rykal said taking the issue to the voters is tough, especially when Mondovi's population skews older and is on a fixed income.
