Please read these documents FIRST to have a better understanding of this situation:Â school board
The SF school district sent out a letter to subs, which they received on Saturday, saying Stehly was giving out false information about how subs were being paid in other districts. Actually, she was giving out the correct information, the SF school district was NOT. They even bragged about it in the letter;
“Because we value and appreciate our substitute teachers, we wanted you to have complete and accurate information.”
Stehly requested and received the CORRECT information today from the Harrisburg School District;
Stehly’s letter to the school board members says it all (it was postmarked today, Monday, August 6);
“All of our elected officials must always work to ensure that we foster a spirit of open, caring and transparent government. The Media also plays a very important part in ensuring the public that all activity that concerns our tax dollars and governmental policy is full of integrity and honesty.”
Ok I’m going to nitpick a little here. First, the district didn’t say Stehly was giving out false information about the salaries. What they wrote in their letter was that her statement about “they don’t want you to have this” was false. The truth is they didn’t say she couldn’t distribute her document, they merely told her she couldn’t distribute it on school property as per district policy.
Second, per their letter they review sub rates beginning in November, and it appears Harrisburg has changed their rates since that time, so the information distributed from the district was likely correct at the time the list was gathered. Stehly’s list is more up to date, but I don’t see some intent on the part of the district to hide the facts.
The truth is, per the rates for other cities in the area, Sioux Falls sub pay is in line with the region. It is a bit more than some cities, a bit less than others, and much more than Rapid City. I suspect the reason Stehly is so focused on Harrisburg is because they happen to have one of the highest rates. So if we are going to talk about misleading, let’s be honest that it seems to be coming from both directions.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not suggesting for a second that subs are overpaid or that they don’t deserve a raise, but the issues raised here are rather petty and not entirely accurate.
Also, I find the list of requests that Stehly made a bit silly, and it sounds as if she is making demands merely to make someone’s life difficult. Am I seriously supposed to believe she can’t figure out who is up for election on the school board or how much they are paid? She is a very bright woman and if the Argus can manage to figure it out, I would think she could too.
Hint: they serve three year terms, and they get $75 per meeting (or other “official” business like being interviewed by the media).
Tip: Review these: http://www.sf.k12.sd.us/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=items&cid=70&id=234&Itemid=484#Section B
Bonus Tip: Review SDCL 13-8-37 and 13-8-38.
That said, does it really matter how often they are paid? This reminds me of politicians who send requests to government agencies not because they have a sincere desire to get the information in a timely manner, but because they are trying to make a name for themselves. If I had a question about the School Board, I’d email Morrison since his email is listed on their website. Chances are you would get a faster answer with less political noise surrounding it… but then again I wouldn’t CC: KELO or the Argus et al on my email so maybe I’m missing the point here.