Toby Doeden took to Twitter in response to a South Dakotan asking what he was going to do about school closures. And we got a glimpse of what Doeden’s policy proposals on education are. Except.. they aren’t really actual proposals.
It’s just a series of slogans he’s throwing out which make less and less sense when placed against a framework of South Dakota’s laws, the system of how we fund education, and well, plain old reality:
Doeden wants to “defund the system,” yet somehow “pay teachers their worth?” How exactly does he intend to pay teachers at all if the system is “defunded?” South Dakota’s educational funding system is not exactly something you can easily pin down. Cheating somewhat, and using Google’s AI to help put our arms around it, this provides a relatively broad outline of what “the system” is that Doeden is telling voters he wants to defund:
South Dakota’s K-12 education system is primarily funded through a combination of state, local, and federal sources, with state aid playing a significant role. The state utilizes a resource-based funding formula, which calculates the cost of education based on the resources needed, such as staff, materials, and programs.
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- South Dakota’s state aid formula considers factors like the number of students, their learning needs (English language learners, students with disabilities, etc.), and the cost of resources.
- Districts are expected to contribute a local share, with the amount based on property values and other local taxes.
- The state also provides additional funding for specific needs, such as sparsity funding for sparsely populated districts.
- South Dakota’s state aid formula considers factors like the number of students, their learning needs (English language learners, students with disabilities, etc.), and the cost of resources.
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- The federal government contributes a substantial portion of education funding, with about 21.7% of total funding coming from federal sources in the 2021-22 school year, according to the US Department of Education.
- This funding includes programs like Title I for low-income students and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for special education.
- Other federal programs, like school lunch and Head Start, are funded through different agencies like the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, respectively.
- The federal government contributes a substantial portion of education funding, with about 21.7% of total funding coming from federal sources in the 2021-22 school year, according to the US Department of Education.
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- Local funding, primarily from property taxes, provides a significant portion of school revenue.
- Districts are generally permitted to collect revenue for capital outlay and bond redemption, separate from the per-student allocation.
- Local funding, primarily from property taxes, provides a significant portion of school revenue.
This is not exactly a system you’re going to start tearing things out from . So, where does Toby plan to start hacking? And don’t forget the demands of the South Dakota Constitution; Article 8 section 1:
Uniform system of free public schools. The stability of a republican form of government depending on the morality and intelligence of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature to establish and maintain a general and uniform system of public schools wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all; and to adopt all suitable means to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of education.
How exactly does Toby plan to “defund the system” in light of the Constitution plainly demanding that “the Legislature.. establish and maintain a general and uniform system of public schools.” School funding has been quibbled over and tweaked over the course of 125 years after this was drawn up, yet Doeden claims he can somehow “defund the system?”
But it’s not just his ridiculous slogan barfing on education – it seems that literally every proposal he tosses out there has no real thought or intelligence behind it, as opposed to being complete pablum for people who don’t get into details. When pressed, I’ve heard him say that he wants to run things like a CEO and people under him will figure it out, or something evasive to that effect.
I don’t recall that Governor Bill Janklow ever told voters that the people under him would figure it out, do you? When Governor Mike Rounds had a plan to enable Homestake to be turned into a world class research facility – he knew exactly how they could solve the liability problems that plagued earlier efforts. Dennis Daugaard had a command of finance that helped him understand that we needed to keep South Dakota’s bond ratings high to help weather the recession he was facing.
The point being, in none of these instances did you ever get the impression that they were throwing out platitudes and just didn’t have a clue what they were talking about? Yet in almost every instance of what we’re getting from Toby, once you start drilling down, his slogans fall apart like being at the dentist with a rotted tooth where the shiny gold part was the only thing holding it together.
It’s literally a campaign of hucksterism, even moreso than we typically get from those running for office. It’s all randomly generated slogans and no policy. You have to ask yourself – who is advising him on education or anything? Rep’s Manhart & Schaefbaur, and Sen. Carl Perry? Or Better yet, Senator “California” Carley?
Because if that’s who he’s got, he’d be better off taking everything they tell him – and casting this utter void of intelligent thought away. Because not having any idea of what he’s talking about is going to kill his campaign quicker than anything, no matter what he spends.
unfortunately “Artman” misses the point that the schools close when they run out of students. The solution is for rural people to produce more children, not for anybody in government to take up “fighting” anybody.
I would agree to a point.. one of the reasons they don’t have kids, is that all the jobs have dried up, and everyone has moved away. Which is why the crazy crusade against economic development through data centers, wind, solar, etc is not a battle we should be fighting if we want people to move to the rural communities where these things are often based.
Family farms, which used to be quite plentiful, have now disappeared. Nowadays a few farm entire areas in each township or county. Thus it is very hard for South Dakota rural areas to increase student enrollment. In a rural area very few would consider putting up a huge industry as they need workers. , They would have to rely on automation and a few migrant workers for production. The promises of some fast talkers to build, pay monumental taxes, improve school and small town growth thus far have proved to be unreliable.
Think what would happen if the school jobs left some of these small towns. That’s the largest employer in most small communities. There’s a reason some towns die and some flourish. Supporting common sense development and good policy is the only way to go if you want to keep your small towns
I can’t wait for the debates…he is going to get an eduction from 3 different ways. Jackley, Daugaard, and Johnson will have him out to pasture in 7 minutes
I trust Doeden’s primary skill, understanding the time-value of money, is just what SD needs, and this will serve him well in debates.
Of course, as the election season rolls in, we’ll see assumptions and theories validated. Let’s admit that all of us could be wrong, and that politics-hustles are tricky to figure out sometimes.
That’s why I like focusing on issues like technology at you know where.
If Toby follows the Donald Trump playbook, he won’t do any debates during the primary season and just go after opponents during campaign rallies. Problem with the strategy is he doesn’t quite have name recognition and South Dakota media likely are going to just ignore him just like they did Steven Haugaard against Governor Kristi Noem.
If during a debate another candidate were to get under Toby’s skin since he has a short fuse scripted Toby would be jettisoned and real Toby would come out. Let’s just say that performance would go viral nationally.
Should be pretty easy, since Toby wasn’t exactly a stellar student in school.
Daugaard running again? Nice!
Daugaard? Is Daugaard running and somehow I haven’t heard of that?
Everything he proposes will make our State MORE dependent on Federal Dollars.
This is a substantive criticism.
Word on the street, though, is that there is somebody in South Dakota with a turn-key platform that is substantive, non-derivative, with calculable ROI for South Dakota’s young people seeking future proof jobs. I have inside information that this individual has reached-out to the campaign, does not want to be hired by the campaign, but wants to help craft the future economy of South Dakota no matter who is governor.
Janklow is returning to Earth? Cool!
Do you ever stop trying to hawk your books and services here? Enough already.
Mr. Dale, grudznick has asked before and has proof that you are, but let me ask again. Are you a witch?
I am betting a Sawyer Pizza that Mr. Dusty will take Mr. Doeden in an arm wrastling contest in Spearfish. You will buy me a pizza and a tankard of ale because your witchery cannot stop reality.
Toby’s desire to end property taxes is delusional. No state has been able to do that. What replaces property taxes? Personal income tax? Personal property tax? Intangibles tax? Just educate kids up to the 4th grade?
Pat is right. It is sloganeering, not policy plans. I can’t believe he made his fortune being this glib. But some people are up in arms about property taxes, so that slogan must have tested well in the focus group. God help us.
There is maybe still a few but for sure one key person still working there very good at their job with financials who worked under 2 different past owners at this Rydell automotive store aka Aberdeen Chrysler Center. They probably had to draw pictures with crayons for Toby to understand.
Fortune? I don’t know about ‘fortune’ but he did have a $1.1M PPE loan forgiven. Not too conservative. Owns casinos. Also not too conservative.
Our Opinion: Classic Toby Doeden! He did it on the sales floor too with vehicles. Not a deep thinker. Minimal effort looking for the quick sale. Not reading or doing basic research to make sure it is the right vehicle for customer. Probably did not have the ability to grasp the specs and what they mean nor care. It was a disaster waiting to happen or at the very least a bad financial outcome for the poor souls that made the purchase.
This guy is running for elected office? Governor? Seriously?
Voters beware!
Rich Corinthian Leather for your Chrysler Cordoeden!
Slogans. Buzzwords. Scripted soundbites. And Trump’s federal platform poorly applied to South Dakota. That is all Toby Doden offers, with a scowl.
This election season seems ripe for the dems to have a chance.
If Stephanie or Billie runs.
Billie is a nice guy, but I don’t know that he offered anything other than being “not Kristi.” That was Jamie Smith’s problem as well.
Billie got bite in the butt by his wife’s association with Dakota Rural Action, now Hansen and Doden are wrapping themselves in DRAs flag.
Where are the comments from the three Aberdeen legislators?
Asking for a friend.
He gives about as straightforward answers as Thune.
I enjoy reading the comments when someone challenges Doeden. Especially when one of his bought and paid for endorsements attempts to come to his rescue. To me it seems weird the chair of the YRs is endorsing in the gubernatorial primary. I thought the party as a whole was neutral until after the primary?
Then again–bought and paid for.