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Where Teachers Are Paid Least, South Dakota Governor Proposes Tax to Boost Salaries

Gov. Dennis Daugaard's proposal to raise South Dakota's teacher salaries from worst in the nation is drawing praise from two of the state's superintendents.

By Evan Hendershot

Gov. Dennis Daugaard's proposal to raise South Dakota's teacher salaries from worst in the nation is drawing praise from two of the state's superintendents.

On Tuesday, Daugaard unveiled his proposals to raise more than $100 million through a half-cent sales tax, with $40 million generated from the tax used to cut property taxes. Through the sales tax increase, Daugaard hopes to raise the state's $40,000 average teacher salaries to $48,500.

Although Mitchell's teachers are already paid some of the highest salaries in the state at about $46,580 for the 2015-2016 school year, Mitchell School District Superintendent Joe Graves commended the governor's action on during the State of the State address.

"We're just absolutely delighted," Graves said after the announcement. "You know, it's tough to be a Republican governor in South Dakota with a strong Republican legislature and still come out for a tax increase, so him putting himself in this kind of a situation to get our teacher compensation to that level has just got to be appreciated by educators everywhere."

Graves was uncertain how attainable the $48,500 average salary would be for other districts in the state, but said Mitchell should have no problem reaching Daugaard's target.

"Do I think it's doable for Mitchell?" Graves said. "You bet."

Erik Person, superintendent of the Burke School District and member of the Blue Ribbon Task Force, was also happy with the overall proposal, but had some concerns with the student to teacher funding ratio suggested by Daugaard.

Daugaard's recommendation calls for a funding ratio based on enrollment totals. Districts with more than 600 students, like Mitchell, would receive funding based on a ratio of 15 students per teacher. Smaller districts with enrollment below 200 would receive funding based on a ratio of 12.5 students per teacher. Districts with enrollment between 201 and 599, like Burke and its 220 students, will receive funding based on a sliding scale between 12.5 and 15 students per teacher.

Person said the 12.5 to 1 student to teacher ratio, which he said differs from a proposal he had seen prior to the address setting the base at 12 students per teacher, could make funding teachers tough for small schools.

"First of all, I'm very much in favor of the governor's proposal," Person said. "It looks great and it's a great effort to address a serious issue. The concern I have is not with the proposal itself, it's in the packaging."

Person said the 12.5 to 1 ratio narrows the disparity between what small schools receive in funding compared to larger districts. He believes this disparity could allow larger districts to meet the target salary while adding jobs, where smaller schools will have difficulty meeting the target salary. This could potentially lead to teacher cuts in smaller districts, which Person said goes against the Blue Ribbon Task Force's main goal of addressing the teacher shortage in South Dakota.

To solve the potential issue, Person believes the legislature will have to increase the amount of funding directed toward teacher salaries or the $48,500 target salary will have to be dropped.

"I'm OK with the dollar amount, but let's call it what it is," Person said, suggesting a $46,000 salary target. "Let's be realistic about the number it's going to raise the average teacher salary to, and it's not $48,000."

Person also said it's a "great idea" to include property tax relief in the package, but thinks the state may need to raise the sales tax by a full cent if tax relief is included in any potential legislation.

Regardless of his concerns, Person applauded the governor for his effort to take on the difficult task.

Graves agreed the goal to raise teacher pay in the state is a high hurdle as the tax increase requires two-thirds approval from both house of the state legislature, but he's optimistic about Daugaard's proposals' chances to pass.

"To me, he's crafted a pretty clever political compromise for a very good purpose, and that is getting our teachers off 51st status," Graves said.

(c)2016 The Daily Republic (Mitchell, S.D.)

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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