Educators in South Dakota have long been underpaid.
Attempts have been made to correct the problem, but none have been successful. There really are some simple solutions if political leaders would have the courage to pursue them.
The money needs to be in a separate fund, not comingled with other school funding dollars. The fund should be dispersed to school districts (or perhaps directly to teachers) who submit applications demonstrating that the dollars would be used for ADDITIONAL pay, not just to “offset” other expenses.
But where would the money come from??
Two possibilities come immediately to mind.
Several years ago, in it’s infinite wisdom, the State Legislature and the Governor changed the mandatory attendance age from 16 to 18. That placed teens in the classroom who did not want to be there, who cause disruption to the learning process and create problems for teachers. The cost at that time was about $4 million dollars a year. I attempted to repeal the law (unsuccessfully) while I served in the state Legislature. A repeal of this law would correct a problem and immediately free up over $4 million dollars a year.
Another source of revenue is income from School and Public Lands. Here is the thought: Wildlife roams freely across the state, grazing on private and public land at no cost to the Game Fish and Parks, who sell licenses and keep the money. A “per acre” fee could be assessed to the GF&P for School and Public Land, for grazing fees. This could be done without increasing license fees. Currently, the GF&P simply lets everyone run their livestock at no charge, and reaps the profit without sharing the proceeds with anyone, for the most part.
Just a couple of thoughts on where money for increased teacher pay could come from without any tax increase. What are your suggestions? (sorry… anything involving a tax increase is a non-starter here)
Disclaimer: My Mother was a teacher, my wife is a teacher and my sister is a teacher.
***Gordon Howie is an author and CEO of Life and Liberty Media***
“It’s not about right or left, it’s about Right or Wrong.”
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