Study shows strong teachers' unions preserve education spending
After the 2007 housing crash and economic recession, state legislatures across the country cut education spending for the first time in more than a decade. However, states with laws prohibiting collective bargaining for teachers made substantially larger cuts—with some making lasting cuts to K-12 public education, according to a new study.
“The results show that spending flattened during this period in states that were a little friendlier to teachers’ unions, while states with weaker unions made relatively more radical cuts to education spending,” said study co-author Walker Swain, an assistant professor in the University of Georgia College of Education’s Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy.