One Disciplinary Action So Far Against a Hamilton Teacher

The Hamilton School District "has taken disciplinary action against one employee who was absent from his professional responsibilities to children" at a time when teachers were in Madison protesting against Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill, the district's spokesperson said Thursday.

Denise Dorn Lindberg confirmed to Patch that one person has been discplined, but would not say what action was taken against the staff member. She also said there may have been others who left school early.

"We are investigating other situations where staff allegedly left a professional development session early," Lindberg said. But if it did happen, it would have been at a time when "students were not in session," she added.

Lindberg said the district has not yet completed its investigation.

Meanwhile, while some districts in Wisconsin have issued or are today issuing layoff notices to dozens of teaching and other staff - which is typical at this time of year when the potential budget for next year is still in flux - Hamilton is not doing so.

"Our legal counsel advised us that it was not necessary to issue layoff notices," Lindberg explained, after the district worked out an agreement with the president of its union - United Lakewood Educators - so that "no layoff notices would be sent" at this time.

"We wanted to avoid sending layoff notices if they were not necessary to avoid the anxiety that such a notice brings to staff," Lindberg explained.

She said that the only notices that will be sent are those for "nonrenewal" that are "normally sent each year to employees who work for us on a limited-term basis," she said.

Even had layoff notices been issued, districts often end up hiring back most, if not all, of the teachers who receive them once the School Board has worked through next year's budget and better knows its anticipated costs and revenue.

Attempts were made to contact officials from the Hamilton teachers union late Thursday afternoon but none was available. A staff member at union headquarters in Brookfield said leaders were out of the office at a rally.

Dorn-Lindberg reported last week that there were .