Not so this morning's guest commentator, good neighbor, gadfly, and former District 8 legislator Gerald F. Lange. His commentary is evidently too tough for that Sioux Falls paper, but not this blog:
"Kids Count," but not like they used to here in South Dakota, according to the latest report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Perhaps this is just one of the trade-off costs we pay for "putting taxpayers first," in providing a "favorable business climate." Maybe short-range "economic development" is more important than "human development!"
On a positive note, the Prairie Business August edition, reports South Dakota winning the national license plate award along with the NSF favoring us with their decision to use the Homestake mine for research.
But the August issue also measures educational opportunities and continues to show us how far ahead our neighbors in North Dakota and Minnesota continue to be. While the legislature in North Dakota is pumping 90 million more into its K-12 schools, we here in South Dakota continue to tolerate the stigma of being last in teachers' salaries. As for university research money, last year UND out-researched USD 81 to under 30 million. Could almost 30 years of one-party rule have anything to do with this blatant disparity in educational opportunities here in South Dakota?
Stop whining about teacher pay...that's all you do...are kids have some of the best, and I mean top 5, best test scores in the country...if you silly liberals would figure out that when you cut out bureaucracy and put that money directly into the classroom in the form of teacher pay, textbooks, and other teaching materials, leaving the decisions in the hands of locals, our education system would be even better than it already is.
ReplyDelete"cut out bureaucracy and put that money directly into the classroom in the form of teacher pay, textbooks, and other teaching materials, leaving the decisions in the hands of locals, our education system would be even better than it already is."
ReplyDelete--um, that's exactly what the silly liberal in charge of this blog has been advocating all along. Did I miss something?
Bill Janklow is still running State Government as his Education Funding Formula is still in place, fundamentally unchanged since the 1990's. As a Republican, I am embarassed at how our majority overlooks funding formula imperfections, not anticipated before declining enrollment reared its ugly head. Some simple adjustments could easily repair a funding formula that basically works...It just needs more money. Schools can't adjust down fast enough when birth rates decline. Gerry Lange is a good person, but pounding his single-topic drum gave me a headache while he was in Pierre.
ReplyDeleteReading this post and posts from the past, you are continuously saying our education system is no good, we lag behind everyone else, and this latest one says its the GOP's fault!
ReplyDeleteThe only thing we rank low in is teacher pay. Our education system, by and large is doing quite well (read my comments from above -- our students in this state do well!)
If you want to pay state income tax and you want a higher cost of living along with your higher salary, move to MN! You are paid roughly 20% more than the average wage in this state compared to 2% less than the average wage in MN! Oh, and you live in MADISON!!! Last time I checked you can live pretty darn comfortably without spending a lot of money. Madison is a great community that has a very low cost of living. We have a very low cost of living in this state!!
The GOP, at least the fiscal conservative fraction of the GOP, believes in keeping government close to the individual...meaning, no bureaucrats clogging up the system and putting money directly in the classroom and that doesn't mean just teacher pay alone, but dollars for students as well.
So, if you really want to advocate for what has been stated already, stop voting for liberals!
I'll take one more stab at clarification: I do not recall ever saying, on these pages or in any other medium, that our education system -- i.e., the schools themselves and the education they dish out -- is no good. I welcome specific examples to the contrary, if you can find them (and if I've been "continuously" saying such things, it shouldn't be hard).
ReplyDeleteOur teachers do a remarkable job, laboring under the many obstacles that Republicans at the state and federal level throw at them. Republicans Janklow and Rounds have promoted ever-increasing state control of education through the state standards and other requirements from the state department of education. Republicans in our legislature have thwarted efforts to put more funding in the hands of school districts to help teachers do their jobs. Republicans gave us No Child Left Behind and the federal imposition of testing and consequences on local districts.
Sure, South Dakota produces really good educational results on the lowest salaries in the nation. But how long do we want to push our luck? As Republicans make teaching a tougher profession, more teachers will choose to get out, and we will find it harder every year to attract and retain talented teachers, who may decide in ever greater numbers that they can make more money and put up with less bureaucracy (or both) in other professions.
And SD vs MN cost of living? I've already addressed that one. Please click here to review....
Are you still wondering why people are criticizing you for saying our education system in SD is bad? Read the title of your post.
ReplyDeleteI read it and then the article and I was scratching my head what child mortality had to do with education results.
Not to put words in the estimable Rep. Lange's mouth, but perhaps he was citing those various results of GOP policy in SD to support the idea that our lawmakers view children more as tax liabilities than precious lives. Funny that pro-lifers have such a hard time figuring that out.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of words in others' mouths, I still don't see the line where I say South Dakota's education system is bad. The title of the post says the GOP lets education lag, meaning they don't make it a priority. Sure, it's good now, but imagine how much better it would be if the GOP supported competitive wages for teachers and more local control (i.e., no forced consolidation).
As always, I welcome criticisms, clarifications, and corrections....