Mr. Ehrisman notices that the new superintendent of the Sioux Falls School District, Dr. Brian Maher, understands the application of simple economics to quality education: if we want good teachers, we have to pay competitive wages.
In this case, Dr. Maher is speaking about substitute teachers:
One of the first things he’d like to get approved is a pay increase for substitute teachers.
“We want somebody more than just a warm body in there. And I think pay, or how you value a position, always is related to the quality that you have in front of the classroom,” Maher said.
The district usually likes to have at least 400 to 450 substitutes on hand throughout the year. Currently there are 200 on staff. Maher says going from $100 a day to $110 a day will hopefully make an impact in the substitute teacher pool.
“When you’re behind your neighbors in terms of pay, it’s going to be even a bigger challenge. What we’re trying to do is at least remedy that part of the equation,” Maher said [Sammi Bjelland, “School Board Meeting Preview,” KELO-TV, 2015.09.14].
The Sioux Falls School Board approved that raise for subs last night, making their district more competitive with a number of neighboring districts that pay over $100 a day.
Sioux Falls doesn’t have to compete with Aberdeen, but up here, subs make $17.12 an hour. Multiply that by 6.67 hours in the classroom in a full high school day, and Aberdeen subs make $114.19 per day.
The main point, though, is that the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Teachers and Students doesn’t have to work hard to figure out the problem with South Dakota’s teacher shortage. Drawing and keeping good talent is a simple matter of paying for that talent, whether we’re talking about qualified substitutes or full-time teachers. The only hard work is figuring out how to pay for that talent.
B I N G O!
And paying it for has to be more than :
‘Raise taxes, give us the money, and trust us.’
The State may not be able to give the school boards more money, however the State might be able to do other things to ease the burden on school boards’ budget so they can pay their teachers more.
-Consolidate school districts
-Consolidate services with other government entities (grounds/buildings)
-Switch to e-books.
-on-line options / distance learning.
-renting out various spaces for community functions.
-use of prison labor (non-student contact positions)
I’m sure if I brainstorm I might come up with a few more ideas.
By themselves these won’t save much. but add some other ideas and we might be able to do something
mc-your #5-i note brand new middle school PE facilities are over crowded most nights with parking lots full of paying adults staying “buff” i suppose. not sure how this is regulated and who is profiting, if at all, on public property.
It seems like lots of people in SD get it about the teacher shortage issue. Too bad the Republican/Koch leadership isn’t among them.