Former Senator Stan Adelstein is holding a press conference this morning in Rapid City to propose his own plan for funding the Blue Ribbon K-12 panel’s plan to increase teacher pay. Adelstein will likely talk about his plan to raise $75 million through property tax reform, specifically by assessing agricultural land at the higher residential rate.
Adelstein has developed the rationale and fiscal details of his plan in a series of blog posts since September 1:
- September 1: What would happen if education were funded fairly?
- October 22: How our children are being cheated
- November 9: The benefits of fairness
- December 17: The fair way to fund the Blue Ribbon Task Force recommendations
Those four blog posts alone make a more substantial and detailed contribution to public policy discussion than the entire body of press releases and petty insults posted at the SDGOP’s mouthpiece blog over the same time period. (I say this not because Adelstein sponsors Dakota Free Press but because it is true.) Adelstein’s posts on funding the Blue Ribbon task force’s proposal shows how public figures can use the blogosphere to develop public policy openly and invite all citizens (at least all of us with Internet access) to participate.
Adelstein joins Rep. Lance Russell, Rep. Lee Schoenbeck, and this blog in beating Governor Dennis Daugaard to the punch in offering specific plans for realizing the raises for teachers proposed by the Governor’s own task force. Perhaps Governor Daugaard (who says he’ll offer his teacher pay proposal Tuesday in his State of the State address) should send someone to Adelstein’s press conference to take notes.
Adelstein begins his press conference at 11 a.m. MST at Rapid City’s downtown public library (610 Quincy Street, just a couple blocks down from the Alex Johnson and Tally’s—reporters! you can take Adelstein to lunch afterward!), in meeting room B.
I was at Adelstein’s meeting today. He laid out his proposal–taxing ag land at the same mill levy as residential property–claiming it would raise the $75 million needed to fund teacher salaries to a marginally competitive level. Talked about its prospects in the legislature at bit, didn’t sound very promising from that angle. I raised the question about getting it done via initiative–SD Constitution requires either a 2/3 majority in each house OR a simple majority by initiative to pass new taxes. Stan wasn’t so sure about the initiative, either as a vehicle or whether he’d support it if it came up. Local media showed up. There was a camera and a reporter.
Not a chance in hell of piling more taxes on big ag at that rate. Now if your willing to guarantee more services for that money maybe.
The Blindman
Thanks for that eyewitness update, John! I look forward to the local reaction!
Bill D, I can’t get you more services than now with that $75 million, but I can make sure South Dakota doesn’t lose a whole lot of services in an accelerating loss of teaching talent.
I noticed some blog comments critical of stan’s potential motivation and protectionism were deleted .
Deleted here, or deleted on Stan’s?
We have the money for teachers…all Pierre has to do is attach strings to the money we give the Administrators. When I was in the legislature we were 49th in teacher pay and 24th in Administration pay. We must tell them, “STOP TAKING THE MONEY FOR YOURSELVES AND GIVE IT TO THE TEACHERS!”
Cory…can you see how much is spent on “education” in SD… including Federal grants like Mid Central. I have heard we get tons of money…it just doesn’t go to the teachers. After all they NEED the teachers poor so they have a bigger voice for more money (which never goes to the teachers)
Lora Hubbel
With legislators like you with an ignorant mindset that administrators are taking all the money that could be spent on teachers, its no wonder our state is in crisis mode on teacher pay. If we took our administrators pay down to 50th in the nation at our local school district, we couldn’t raise our teacher pay more than one percent. On a statewide basis, I’m willing to bet that taking administrator’s pay down to 50th in the nation, won’t get you even 25% of the money needed to get teachers a competitive salary in this state.
The other thing to keep in mind on administration costs in SD is that we have many more small schools in wide geographic areas which costs more than administration of schools in urban areas.
But keep trying to throw out red herrings to distract people from you and your former colleagues’ complete mismanagement of funding for SD’s k-12 education system, its all you know