Before the start of the 2014-15 school year Erika and Kurt Drengler were both happily employed by the Superior school district - Kurt as a special education teacher and Erika as a health teacher at Superior Middle School.

Now only Erika remains. Her husband accepted a job in Minnesota earlier this year.

“I just wanted to put a face to the teachers crossing bridge,” Erika Drengler said.

Drengler was among the teachers raising the alarm last week at the Superior School Board’s committee of the whole meeting. She said Wisconsin’s commitment to education has deteriorated since the introduction of Act 10, leading an increasing number of teachers to seek jobs out-of-state.

Janna Stevens, Superior school district superintendent, said it is a problem the Board may need to address in the near future.

“I do see a major issue, especially with special education,” Stevens said. “I understand that some teachers got signing bonuses, and they went to a variety of places in Minnesota - Duluth, Proctor, Hermantown.

“I do think that’s a major problem for our district and absolutely for the state of Wisconsin. With the increase in special education needs, those teachers are in high demand.”

If the exodus to Minnesota continues, Stevens said the Superior school district will soon face a shortfall in special education.

Nearly four dozen teachers showed up for the Nov. 3 committee of the whole meeting, and those who addressed the School Board said more must be done to attract new teachers to Superior and to retain those already employed by the district.

Lee Sims, who teaches science at Superior High School, expressed deep concern about the district’s future. He noted the case of a colleague with 20 years of experience who recently renewed her Minnesota teaching license.

“Good teachers are leaving and fewer new teachers are coming,” Sims said. “And we haven’t even replaced our salary schedule yet. What will happen then?”

The School Board votes tonight on a motion to remove current schedules from the teacher handbook.

Meetings to craft a new salary schedule are under way, and Stevens said she hopes to have a draft finished by May.

“We have to have a salary schedule,” Stevens said. “The teachers have been very clear on that. I agree, and I believe that the majority of the Board agrees with that as well. So we have to have a salary schedule that can be more in alignment to our competition.”

Stevens said she isn’t certain how the district will stem the loss of teachers, but a longevity pay incentive is being considered for the new salary schedule.

The School Board is also expected to approve new language tonight for teachers’ employee handbooks.

Initially, teachers expressed confusion and uneasiness over the new language when the district listed the length of teacher contracts, July 1-June 30, under a new “Contracted Days” heading.

School Board member Christina Kintop recommended moving language about the duration of contracts to another heading to make it clear that teachers would not be required to teach in the district year-round or be assigned new staff development days in the summer.

“If we just took that out of that section, maybe that would alleviate some of that fear,” Kintop said.

The Board moved forward the new policy language, with Kintop’s recommendation, by a 6-0 vote at last week’s meeting.

Stevens also expects the Board to strike proposed language that would have permitted the collection of union dues on behalf of employees.

Union members were appreciative of the change but warned that it likely violates Act 10.

“I thought that we were allowed to do this now from a conversation I had with a different district and an attorney, but I think the union’s right that we can’t do that,” Stevens said.

When Act 10 was introduced in 2011, it prohibited districts from deducting union dues from employee paychecks. That aspect of the legislation was challenged in court, but in July the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that all of Act 10 - including the prohibition on dues deductions - was constitutional.

“Honestly, I guess I don’t understand why we can’t,” Stevens said. “They’re an authorized organization (and) we take out for other groups, so I don’t understand why we can’t.

“I thought it would be a way to help, but I don’t think we’re going to be able to do that.”

Stevens also said back pay is in order for new teachers after Sims and SHS social studies teacher Kyle Smith questioned how the district applied a 1.46 percent salary raise approved in October.

Smith and Sims said new teachers did not received the wage increase, which equates to about $512 over the course of a year. During negotiations, Smith said, the union understood that all teachers would receive the increase.

Stevens said she had viewed the situation differently because salary step increases for teachers were frozen this year.

“In my mind, when we said that it’s frozen, that means that they’re frozen as they are,” Stevens said. “However, I was incorrect. What was passed was the 1.46 increase for the teacher staff at that time, and then it was frozen. So those individuals (new teachers) are going to get that back pay.”

Stevens said adjustments will be made on teachers’ next paycheck.