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Blue Ribbon Co-Chairs Ask Teachers to Be Civil, Positive… and Quiet?

The leaders of Governor Dennis Daugaard’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Teachers and Students are urging us teachers to be nice to them:

Two state legislators who chair the governor’s Blue Ribbon task force on K-12 education said Friday they are optimistic, but they asked school board members and school superintendents to be respectful in public about the panel’s work.

“If we derail this, it could be a long time before we have another opportunity,” Rep. Jacqueline Sly, R-Rapid City, said during a panel discussion at the joint convention of board members and superintendents.

“This is education’s time to shine,” Sen. Deb Soholt, R-Sioux Falls, said. “I would be so sad if we squander this time that’s ahead of us, the next six months” [Bob Mercer, “Educators Urged to Speak Positively About K-12 Task Force,” Aberdeen American News, 2015.08.08].

If we derail this… who’s we? Is the suggestion that we teachers will derail the Blue Ribboneers’ work if we say anything critical of the process and the eventual recommendations? Or is the suggestion that we aren’t supposed to say anything at all in public?

[Sly] and Soholt have both tried to instill more confidence in the process. And both said they’ve taken some flack along the way.

“Talk to me, don’t take it to the whole world,” Sly said. “Once you shut down, I shut down” [Patrick Anderson, “Civility Called for in School Funding Debate,” that Sioux Falls paper, 2015.08.08].

Don’t take it to the whole world… wait: are we calling for civility or secrecy? Public debate or prior restraint?

Teachers and other friends of education can quite civilly and justifiably express skepticism of a task force that follows ten previous summer studies that resulted in little if any positive change (though Aberdeen superintendent Dr. Becky Guffin assures us that “This time it does feels different“). Educators can shine by leading vigorous discussion, with the Blue Ribbon panel and the public, about the realities of teaching for peanuts in South Dakota.

And if the Blue Ribbon panel delivers a bad plan, educators can give Soholt, Sly, and the panel an F and fight that plan.

It would be sad if, as Senator Soholt says, we squander the six months ahead of us. But teachers won’t squander that time with their conscientious public statements. Legislators will squander it if they don’t take the teacher shortage seriously and focus on solving that problem.

26 Comments

  1. Owen 2015-08-08 08:22

    Sorry Sly and Soholt but there is a lot of skepticism for the reasons you stated Cory.
    I have to disagree agree with you a bit Cory. Teachers have been listening to Republicans for a lot longer then just 10 summer sessions. As you know my father was a long time teacher and I remember him talking about this problem long ago. Lip service was given to teachers back then and it “feels” like teachers are getting the same thing now.

    Sly and Soholt should be talking to our Governor. Daugaard, in an interview this week, compared the teacher shortage to other shortages in South Dakota like engineers.

    Daugaard doesn’t see the the urgency of this problem. It’s sad because all he has to do is watch the news and see the stories that were on KELO and KSFY this week showing the problems schools are having in finding qualified teachers. And it’s not just small school districts. Sioux Falls and Rapid city are having a hard time filling vacancies.

    There should be no “window of opportunity” for teachers. This should be on the front burner all the time. Sadly its not.

  2. Shirley Harrington-Moore 2015-08-08 08:30

    sounds like the PUC and any Native American who wants to testify regarding the KXL pipeline. Don’t be seen and don’t be heard — after all, we republicans control the process.

  3. Lynn 2015-08-08 09:16

    It’s too bad we don’t have a side wager going on regarding education funding changes as a result of this Blue Ribbon Panel.

    Wager on nothing changes.

    Wager on funding slightly increased thru regressive sales tax increase.

    Wager on a few previous tax exempt industries will lose their exemption.

    Wager on that it’s time to overhaul our tax system here in the state of SD to make it more progressive and properly fund education.

    Wager on with our tail between our legs we ask our prosperous neighbor to the east Minnesota to help us out to fund ecucation since they already pay more into Federal taxes than they get back which partly supports us anyways. Btw! besides the moola can we bum some cigs and a beer too?

  4. John 2015-08-08 09:24

    “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Meade

    Be quiet! is a cardinal chapter from the poor leadership manual. Be quiet! is trotted out when poor leaders sense a threat to their status quo or preconceived ideas that do not meld with reality.

  5. 96Tears 2015-08-08 14:08

    Drunk with power, the foolish Blue Ribbon Panel (a dyslexic PBR?) will act only to observe that all that can (will) be done is being done. You don’t want to raise taxes, do you? Right?

    At last, we may be reaching the tipping point where the cowardly, callous GOP caucus (every last one of them) will piss off enough people to start moving the political needle in the other direction in South Dakota.

    Soholt and Sly are doing a great job. Democratic legislators, stand out of their way and give them and their pals as much rope as possible. Never forget that the GOP’s stated top priority in Pierre this next year is to eliminate all Democrats from the legislature.

    Voters in South Dakota require a hard shot to the head to get their attention. The fools in Pierre are running out of fig leaves. If they want to fix the teacher/education funding problem, Daugaard and the GOP leadership have more than 2/3 majorities to fix the problem. It’s up to them to raise taxes. If the failure continues, it’s on them.

  6. Kal Lis 2015-08-08 15:04

    Lynn,

    I’ll see all of your wagers and offer one of my own.

    Wager: The task force will come up with some new version of Daugaard’s referred HB 1234. I am willing to lose this one, but I fear that I won’t.

  7. MJL 2015-08-08 15:18

    I want to know what Sly meant that they have to be bold, but they need us to be bold as well. Is she trying to warn us that we need to take bold steps and overthrow all of the GOP that refuse to stand for education and have educators and other school related people run for office? We just need to move the SD session to the summer and get some air conditioning in the state capital.

  8. Deb Geelsdottir 2015-08-08 15:19

    That is a transparent attempt to silence critics, provide ready made blame if this panel produces nothing, and make the panel appear earnest and sincere.

    If they really are earnest and sincere, they will welcome input, even if it is critical, and the results will demonstrate their sincerity. Time will tell.

    Silencing those with the greatest knowledge and experience in the panel’s topic is detrimental and that’s what can derail any progress.

    Who, if their car breaks down, takes it to the mechanic, refuses to allow her input, and expects the car to be repaired? Only those who believe in magic.

  9. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-08-08 16:58

    MJL, I approve of your bold plan. Teachers can be bold by speaking up, standing their ground, and convincing some of their retired compatriots (may I speak with Judy Kroll and Donus Roberts, please?) to run for Legislature and oust the legislators who have facilitated two generations of legislative neglect of K-12 education. And yes, if we can move Session to the summer, let’s get you and Kal Lis in there, too! (But we have to make sure Session starts after Nationals.)

  10. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-08-08 17:10

    Deb, I’m glad I’m not the only one reading the co-chairs’ words as a way to beat back critics. I can sympathize with calls for constructive civil discourse… but given the extremity of the situation—teacher salaries at rock bottom for thirty years, teacher shortage getting worse, Legislature and Governor delaying action for another year with their eleventh summer study of education—I think we are entitled to be very sensitive and resistant to any suggestion that somehow this problem is teachers’ fault, or that we teachers have to be extra careful with our words, or (and this may be the most important point) that teachers have to offer bold compromises (sacrifices?) to coax legislators into fulfilling the constitutional and moral obligation that they have ignored for far too long.

    Let’s look at it this way: If I said I would do the dishes, and if I’ve let a two-week stack accumulate in the sink, and if my wife says, “You gonna do something about those dishes?” I don’t get to reply, “I’ll do the dishes, but only if I get to convert your office into my man cave.” My wife’s proper response would be a few words she can’t say at work, followed by, “Just do the dishes.”

  11. Roger Elgersma 2015-08-08 20:43

    don’t take it to the whole world, so when I have shut you down, I can shut down. That is to simple. Either they are shutting people up so that if they do a very small improvement it will look sufficient, or they want it to look like Daugaard will come up with a miracle to take all the glory himself. Am I way to positive.

  12. leslie 2015-08-08 20:50

    can teachers run for the legislature and come back to their job? city attorneys do. city depart heads sail around the world and come back. city air managers go to fiji or some where with their wife’s deal, get paid half time or something ’cause they send work emails back.

    am speculating we need to get teachers in the legislature, maybe fashion some permitting legislation to protect them.

  13. Owen 2015-08-08 22:12

    Mel Olson from Mitchell did it. I think he had permission.
    Mitchell Superintendent Joe Graves wanted to but the school board said no-thankfully.

  14. O 2015-08-08 22:16

    I think too much evil intent is being read into Rep. Sly’s comments. “If we derail this . . .” and “Talk to me, don’t take it to the whole world,” seem to be asking not for silence but appropriate address of ideas and concerns to those who can make revisions and act on those concerns – those on the BRTF. If concerns and ideas are only aired outside the ability of the BRTF to address/revise/or answer, then that is only a path to ineffectual policy by leaving those able to affect change out of the discussion.

    I also do not see the profit for any of us in education to assume the BRTF recommendation(s) will be bad. We are early in the process of data acquisition (remember, not all of the task force has been immersed in the teacher salary/shortage issue for as long as others – getting every member up to speed is valuable). The listening sessions around the state resonated with the task force legislative members. If we automatically defer that any new effort is doomed to fail based on evidence of past efforts, then there can never be a solution. Certainly pessimism is easier and can be supported by plenty of evidence, but I don’t see that as the path to a solution.

    I understand wanting to storm the castle if this vital issue is not addressed in a meaningful way, but shouldn’t we wait to see how it is addressed before we declare defeat? More to the point, don’t we undermine the chances of meaningful improvement every time we do anything less than EVERYTHING in all our power to move a good solution forward.

    From where the process (albeit early) is so far, the analysis of district funding and SD teacher wages, has there been a misstep? Has there been an exclusion of information or solutions? From where I sit, I don’t see that. The task force discussion on the 7th of July was the best discussion of funding I have been part of in my 27 years a teacher.

  15. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-08-09 09:12

    O, I’m eager to see what concrete proposals come from this summer study. I agree the July 7 discussion appears to have been highly detailed and useful.

    However, on “evil intent”, I’m willing to lay the burden of proof of good intent on the task force, particularly on the Legislative members of the panel. They have given us ten summer studies with no results to avert the current crisis. When the Legislature did act in 2012, it produced the monstrosity of House Bill 1234, which we had to refer to a vote to stop from making our schools worse. That record justifies skepticism on the part of educators, parents, and everyone else outside the Legislature. It’s neither surprising nor entirely inappropriate that we would look at legislators’ comments on this process through the lens of lengthy experience.

    I don’t want to foul up the task force process. I’m not asking teachers to disrupt the meetings, shout down the co-chairs and testifiers, and vow now to oppose whatever the Blue Ribboneers propose. But teachers and everyone else should be ready to storm the castle if the Blue Ribbon panel offers turkey ideas or if the panel delivers good stuff but the Legislature fails to pass it. Will folks waiting to storm the gates motivate the panel and the Legislature to get it right this time?

  16. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-08-09 09:24

    Dr. Mike Elsberry, superintendent at Bon Homme, broke Rep. Sly’s request last month and took his complaint to the whole world (at least the portion of the world that reads the Mitchell Daily Republic):

    The only applicant we interviewed for our 7-12 special education position had a master’s degree plus several years of experience. Subsequently, we offered her a contract. The district proposed a salary of a little under $38,000 — according to the salary schedule. She said thanks and that she would return home and determine where this left her household. I felt positive about her accepting, since her husband was from Springfield and both hoped to return to the area.

    The applicant called me a couple of days later and declined. It was clear to me why she did. Her current teaching position paid her approximately $56,000, and she couldn’t justify the pay cut she would have to take in order to move to the Bon Homme School District….

    I have a sincere longing to witness the lessening of summer study and/or blue ribbon committees on school finance, and an equal interest in seeing some movement made in teacher salaries throughout the state.

    …Instead of practicing decision-making avoidance, let’s start some positive movement for our students. Let’s start right now [Mike Elsberry, “Stop Talking, Start Deciding,” Mitchell Daily Republic, 2015.07.27].

    Dr. Elsberry says we’ve talked enough. We know the problem: South Dakota’s K-12 funding formula doesn’t support competitive wages. We know the solution: new revenue. Does Dr. Elsberry saying these things in public instead of in a private e-mail to Rep. Sly somehow hurt our ability to reach a solution?

  17. mike from iowa 2015-08-09 09:30

    Ministers are allowed to be pols (and shouldn’t be). Why not teachers?

  18. mike from iowa 2015-08-09 09:31

    According to wingnut critics teachers have oodles of spare time since they only work 9 months of the year.

  19. Jason Sebern 2015-08-09 09:34

    “Very important thing to keep in mind, that when justice comes and when injustices are remedied, they’re not remedied by the initiative of the government or the politicians. They only respond to the power of social movements”. Howard Zinn

  20. Kathy Tyler 2015-08-09 11:02

    Interesting point on teachers being legislators. If every educator had voted for TRUE education supporting candidates during the past elections (usually a Democrat), the state wouldn’t be in this fix. As for becoming legislator, it shouldn’t be a problem, but we still need the support of educators…their vote could/would change the whole education environment in South Dakota.

  21. Donald Pay 2015-08-09 11:19

    I’d come down somewhere in the middle between o and Cory. Where the process exists, use the process, but don’t let that be your only way forward on the issue. I wouldn’t go out of my way to antagonize Legislators, but I wouldn’t shut up either. Respectful advocacy and providing good information is what you should do.

    I think Sly is giving some interesting advise on tactics, which paralleled the advice we received from Linda Lea Viken on the mining and waste issues back a couple decades ago. I think the Legislature is far, far too late in doing something about the issue, but they do appear to be serious this time. We’ll see.

    Just in case this is another “do-nothing” task force study, I would suggest looking into other avenues, for example a lawsuit or an initiative. You can run on parallel tracks, and still be respectful of the legislative process. Nothing focuses the mind of legislators as the people taking the power into their own hands. And, going through the legislative process, even if you think it’s a charade, builds credibility for your side and shows you will try all avenues to make progress on the issue.

  22. Kathy Tyler 2015-08-09 13:45

    Oh, I think they will get something done. Then they will run as true education funding candidates in 2016. Aside from that, I do have high regard for the chairs of the committee. They are smart, very professional women. Good luck to all.

  23. O 2015-08-09 14:24

    Cory: “Will folks waiting to storm the gates motivate the panel and the Legislature to get it right this time?” That is my hope. I hope there is constant, explicit, specific input from anyone interested in education and the opportunities of SD students (as our children, grandchildren, citizens, or workforce) to the members of the BRTF. Let history (and yes, you are right that it is a sorry history for teachers, a history I have experienced first-hand for 27 years) be the reason to push for meaningful results, not the excuse for giving up on opportunities when they arise.

    Dr. Elsberry’s point is well taken, and to that point, the first order of the BRTF information dive was to answer why districts like Mitchell cannot pay that competitive salary. The blame push between the state and local districts leaves teachers (and their students) stuck in the middle. Should we accept that none, NONE of the reason for low salaries in SD if from budget decisions made at the local board level?

  24. grudznick 2015-08-09 21:16

    Gnashing of your teeth before the BluRT-F has even come forward with all the good ideas is just counter-productive. That is what these young ladies are saying to you. So quit whining and sit tight. The ride has yet to begin. We all need to just bite our tongues and stop speculating about things we know little about.

  25. leslie 2015-08-09 22:34

    Kathy, are most teachers voting democrat?

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