During the 1972-1974 school years, teachers belonging to the Hortonville Education Association went on strike against the Hortonville School District. Strikes by teachers were illegal under state law. The 84 striking teachers were replaced by strikebreakers and classes resumed. The union took the firings by the school board to court, asserting that the disciplinary hearings held by the Hortonville Board of Education were prejudiced because of the board's role as the bargaining unit for the district. The case went to the
Wisconsin Supreme Court, which found for the Hortonville Education Association, reversing Wisconsin lower courts, which had found for the school board. The case,
Hortonville Joint School District No. 1 v. Hortonville Education Association, went to the
United States Supreme Court. In a 6–3 decision authored by
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, the court found the board had held the power to discipline the teachers under state law, and further that the action was in the best interests of the community, in providing continued education for the charges of the board, the students. ==Notes==