The Sioux Falls School Board approved only a $1.6 million dollar opt-out for next year to cover teacher pay instead of the possible $5 million they could have.
I’m glad they woke up and suddenly got a conscience, even though they should have never passed the $50 million dollar opt-out to begin with, especially with a new school bond looming in the near future.
I also find it a bit ironic they were quick to protect teacher pay while still paying well below a living wage for support staff.
Contract negotiations with teacher and support bargaining units begins soon.
Education Assistants in Harrisburg School District now start at 14.25, SFSD Education Assistants start at 11.87.
PR for upcoming bond issue will be guaranteed to include the fact the SF School Board chose to take ONLY 1.6m of the possible 5m opt-out.
“….especially with a new school bond looming in the near future.”
Everyone has known for years that the fourth high school was coming. Heck, the “Mt. Rushmore” motif with our high school names should have been proof of that alone. (No wonder they had to get rid of Jefferson Elementary) So why did we ever build the New Technology High School, when we knew we would soon need funds for the fourth high school? It seems to me that the School Board is building decks, doing landscaping, and adding on, when it really needs to be more concerned about the furnace and the plumbing within their domicile of responsibility…. I say we make the NTHS into our fourth high school, or should we say Jefferson High School, to save money and time. Plus, it is ideally located in the northern quadrant of the City, which is currently void of a high school…. And Jefferson always did like to tinker with things too, so a technical past would be right up the alley of any Jeffersonian theme and school pride….. 😉
Oh, and I know…. Jefferson was a slave owner, that’s right, but Jefferson is a part of the continuum of our nations history unlike Lee, who was a divergence to our history….