l3wis 
OCTOBER 23, 2007
This one is recycled thought it was appropriate considering Sen. Olson’ s comments in the below AP column.
Sen. Olson: S.D. teacher salaries too low
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
The Associated Press
School districts may have to provide more money for teaching positions that are hard to fill, such as math and science, and might need a different salary structure to do it, he said.
“We’ve got to get rid of the ‘over-and-down’ for years of (teaching) experience,” said Olson, referring to a chart-style salary scale that rewards teachers for experience and advanced degrees.
The state teachers’ union has argued against differential pay, however, saying that the salaries of all teachers should be increased.
Teachers in South Dakota, on average, make less than teachers in every other state.
An American Federation of Teachers 2005 survey showed the average salary for a South Dakota teacher was $34,039. The national average was $47,602.
“If you’ve got somebody who can teach math or be an engineer, what economic benefit is there for them to teach math?” Olson said. “They can go and be an engineer for at least $50,000.”
Olson said he talked recently with an official of the National Education Association. The Mitchell legislator said he warned the teachers union official that performance pay could become a factor.
“I told him, ‘If you keep your head in the sand about performance pay and if you don’t realize that at some point the market’s got to play a role, you’re (eventually) going to get it slammed down your throat,”‘ Olson said.
John I. Wilson, the NEA’s executive director, told the Daily Republic that the NEA favors other approaches.
“We would prefer that people use other methods to attract teachers of math and science, such as forgiveness of college loans or by providing better incentives,” he said.
“Most science or math teachers recognize that they don’t want to be part of devaluing the importance of English, or social studies or even kindergarten. (Differential pay) creates a dynamic within the teaching profession that somewhat undermines its collegiality.”
Paying more for a high demand commodity looks good from a market economist’s point of view, but “as a profession it doesn’t work,” Wilson said.
Some school districts have tried a differential pay system but abandoned it, he said.
“They find it doesn’t accomplish what it was supposed to accomplish and it breeds discontent,” he said.
Differential pay for high-demand teachers could be a long-term solution to shortages, said Joe Graves, Mitchell superintendent. “But right now, we need higher teacher pay in general,” he said.
FRANK BASILE – TOUCH OF EUROPE – THIS PAST SATURDAY
Good times. I would like to thank everyone who helped promote this event on the internets. Basile and his band played to a packed house and moved a lot of merch too.
