Lawsuit against taxpayers begins on Tuesday. And it comes on the heels of bad news for the plaintiffs.
From Keloland News, we’re getting the starting lineup of the schools that are going to be called to court to try to prove that taxpayers need to be forced right now to spend more on education:
Those challenging the school funding system will focus on the Rapid City, Faith, Doland, Bon Homme, Willow Lake and Florence school districts.
Lawyers say superintendents from those schools and other witnesses will present evidence in the case, filed by about 100 of the state’s 168 districts.
Lawyers for the state plan to counter with testimony and evidence intended to show that South Dakota students outperform those in most other states, even though South Dakota spends less per pupil than the national average.
Read that all here. Interestingly enough, this news comes right on the heels of another story:
The percentage of South Dakota students who were found to be competent or advanced on an annual state assessment required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act inched forward this year.
and….
Eighty-four percent were competent or advanced in reading, compared to 83 percent last year.
So, while schools are trying to tell us that they need more money to provide an adequate education, kids are learning, and it appears, more proficiently than the year before.
Why are taxpayers forced to foot the bill for this stupid exercise of taxpayer supported entities supporting another taxpayer supported entity (at taxpayer expense)?
Clearly, test scores are a bellwether that It’s not about the quality of education that we’re providing kids.
Let’s cut to the chase. My opinion (and I’m sure it’s the opinion of many others) is that it’s all about two things - teacher salaries and local control.
Let me be the first to say that if we can find the money, why shouldn’t we find a fair system to reward teachers who perform? And why shouldn’t we allow schools to pay based on the supply and demand of specialties within the profession? Some might advocate a broad increase for all, but they’ve done so for years and it hasn’t happened. Something is more than nothing.
They say every journey begins with a few steps. And maybe if those who stand against merit pay and the natural process of supply and demand would get out of the way, they’d all be farther down the path of their goal of higher salaries.
My other point - the issue of local control? The state is so involved in the minutia of the day to day operations with mandates, both funded and unfunded that discretion of schools towards local needs is forced under the surface. To me, the state should provide loose guidelines on what constitutes an education. (And that’s doing so without the Board of Regents. Or has it escaped from everyone’s notice that the cart is pushing the horse?)
And then allow local school boards the flexibility to achieve that through their own means.
Ultimately, local school boards are responsible to local taxpayers. They will be able to determine if their schools are doing a good job far better than a meddling state bureaucracy.
Those things will reform the system far better than any lawsuit.
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Comments
Most of us understand that this lawsuit is about SD not spending as much on education as other states whether it’s on a per pupil basis or teacher’s salaries. I don’t think there is a single state that would admit they are spending enough.
If it was about our test scores, the lawsuit would never have been filed. The amount of money needed for education at some point begins with the challenges that face the students. The fact of the matter is, SD has a very family oriented state with high parental involvement. It doesn’t take an expensive adequacy study to tell us that what happens outside the classroom is probably more important than what happens inside. Could our schools and teachers use more? You bet, but until someone comes up with ways to either raise taxes or take money from somewhere else, SD is doing all we can.
anonymous, good points, but i question whether our state has high parental involvement. how can that be when we rank at or near the top in the nation of kids whose parents both work outside the home?
in the sioux falls area, at least, i see fewer and fewer parents getting involved with their kids’ education.
I’m sure I’m going to get slammed for this, but doesn’t the state write the achievement test that SD’s students take? And, would it also be true that no other states take the same test as SD does? Now, I’m not sure the effect of NCLB has on standardized tests, but two years ago, in my home town, there 14 valadictorians, the year after that there were 6. Now I have a feeling that kids are not miraculously getting smarter, school (and do I dare imply the state achievement test?) is just getting easier. Feel free to slam as you may, I’m bracing for it.
Bottom line is that this suit is about paying teachers more money. It has nothing to do with academic achievement. The purpose is to allow teaching salaries to be competitive with all the surrounding states. Year after year our legislature and governor get slammed for not provided more money to pay teacher salaries. But the real problem rests with administrators — if they cut back the number of teachers, they would have enough money to pay a competititve wage. Who gives a rip if there are 50 kids in k through 6 grades — if we don’t have the money, we don’t have the money. Pack more kids in each class, fire more teachers, hire more teacher assistants to help manage the larger classes, and continue to eliminate the small districts that are not cost effective.
Anonymous on August 28, 2008 @ 3:44 pm
I agree with you in debutante. Minus the packing them in like sausages part and eliminating the small districts (some can’t help being small) 
2:47,
Let me give you an analogy of how the standardized tests work:
The State Board of Education dictates the content standards to all public schools in this state. As long as the schools meet the content standards, they can use whatever materials and methods they wish. Every state writes their own standardized tests but they must meet specific criteria set out by the Federal Government.
Give all SD kids a laptop, close all the damn schools and fire all the teachers. Let the kids stay at home and take classes over the internet. Will save a xxit-load of money.
I was under the impression that Rapid City was not a party to this lawsuit?