I’m still spitting nails
This is the first of several stories we will be reading about how the Governor’s moronic, ignorant and mostly selfish plan to increase teacher pay falls short;
The legislation promised to give teachers significant raises and give South Dakota schools the ability to compete. But now that districts are doing the math, the Governor’s plan isn’t adding up.
I knew from the beginning, from the dirty track record of Rounds and Daugaard when it came to education funding, that his half-penny increase was a ploy to test the waters of a sales tax increase. Don’t we remember the same promises about Video Lottery?
While the half-penny increase will affect all of our wallets, you will soon see the funding to teachers diluted and the money basically going to property tax relief for the largest property owners in the state.
I warned of the precedent.
It’s easy to point our fingers at the Republicans for acting like a flock of sheep (well, not all of them), but it is the Democrats whose chickenshit votes to push this over a 2/3rds majority that really screwed the chicken on this one, when they all knew that there is millions in the education trust fund that could fill the gap of teacher pay WITHOUT RAISING TAXES!
What a mess, and the worst part about it is we will all be paying more for a broken plan that hasn’t even been implemented yet.
Well said .
How long could this magic bean trust fund have paid for these raises for a tiny segment of our society? I say, let them earn more by working hard. Next we will have to raise taxes for policemen. And who after that?
Bon Homme has 49 teachers, the formula will only fund their 524 avg fall enrollment for 36 teachers, that is 36% (13) more teachers than the formula allows, so bye bye raises or bye bye jobs, you pickem.
I loved it when I heard that teachers were surprised that they weren’t going to get their promised $48,000 annual salary. And I love it when the small schools are surprised that the funding formula ensures they will lose staff just to fund the so-called raises. All this was known ahead of time, but the lobbyists screaming and the harassment etc overshadowed the truth. Maybe legislators, and the public, will pay attention next time.
Initially, HB 1182 (the teacher pay raise bill) did not even mention the word “education.” Not until the bill lost in the first round on the House side by one vote was the bill amended to include the word and or intent of “education.” If that often ignored reality with this issue and its ensuing debate is not a hinted canary in the coal mine over this alleged solvency, then I do not know what is…
don’t worry, i’m sure administrators pay will go up.
More sales tax means I buy more from the tax free internet. Education & especially teachers need attention. Divert budget from other state spending and/or find another resource. How about increase the state take on lottery casinos or increase new car sales tax one percent?
Legalize pot and tax it 50%.
scott, 3.20.16 at 5:24p.m.
Well, think of the extra skill which will required by those supes and business managers to wrangle these numbers through their spreadsheets to craft their budgets! /sarc
… and, a la the situation @ MCEC, those administrators will still spend some of their time (like the supes from Mitchell and Ethan) more worried about those second-jobs as ‘consultants’ to all of the government grants that the state has farmed out to cronies.
And the real truth continues to come out about HB 1182:
http://www.keloland.com/news/article/education/another-school-district-speak-out-on-teacher-pay-bill
Perhaps this would be a good time to review the following footage from “Fahrenheit 911:”
FF: 01:01:49
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHPJE4f_e-8
“D@ily Spin” – Better hurry and get your internet orders in. This bill is sitting on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature: http://www.legis.sd.gov/docs/legsession/2016/Bills/SB106ENR.pdf