While legislators are looking to rob tens of millions of funding from South Dakota school districts, they seem to be ignoring teacher shortages, which do not seem to be getting any better in South Dakota.
In fact, the teacher shortage is getting so bad that as South Dakota News Watch is reporting, school districts are starting to outsource to countries where English may not even be the first language for teachers:
In all, 446 international teachers hold active certificates to teach in South Dakota schools, said Mary Stadick Smith, deputy secretary for the South Dakota Department of Education. The number of certificates issued to international teachers peaked in the 2023-24 school year, when 138 new certificates were issued, she said.
About 50 public school districts, roughly 25% of the state total, had foreign teachers on staff in 2024, the DOE said. The top three countries of origin are the Philippines, Columbia and Spain.
The DOE said the foreign instructors teach a variety of subjects and grade levels, and all must have valid visas and state certification as required by law.
and..
Vergara said his salary in the U.S., which is three or four times what he would earn as a teacher in the Philippines, allows him to send money back home, in particular to care for his brother who suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident.
So the same people who are reluctant to increase teacher pay, and want to strip millions of dollars from South Dakota school districts are the same people who are forcing school districts to look outside of the country to find people who will come into the state to work on an international visa because it’s 3 to 4 times the amount of money they can make in their own country.
What teacher shortage?
Our new Lt. Gov. Tony V. loves to take victory laps about how the Blue Ribbon Task force solved that problem!
Most recent teacher turnover and vacancy stats are over two years out of date at the SDDOE? Those figures are worse than those from prior to 2016? Just think of how much worse it would be if we hadn’t raised the sales tax in 2016! Nothing to see here folks, we’ve all got to make sacrifices so we can spend $13 mil on a gun range!
When does the gun range open? I can’t wait and will use it often.
And let me guess. They come here because they can make more money here than in their own country. (I’m the same person that made the above comment).
Our teachers and future educators would be far better off in Minnesota.
So what you are saying is education is now facing the same problem every business has experienced the last 15-20 years. Unlike the private sector that has to adapt and overcome, educators can know no adversity and must have an ever increasing tax revenue stream.
Not what I read but ok.
Businesses raise prices all the time, so did you fail econ 101 or what?
What hot nonsense is this? Businesses raise their prices all the time to meet rising costs (i.e., increasing the revenue stream). Did you fail Econ 101 and just live under a rock or what?
Raising prices to always achieve profitability sounds like a fairy tale. If outsourcing labor cuts the expense side of the budget and accomplishes the goal then I see no problem.
Ah yes, if surgery’s expensive let’s fire the certified surgeon and just hire a nurse to save money. Let’s nix the county CPA and hand the books over to Bob’s uncle, he seems good with money.
Good enough is good enough.
All things you dont like are fairy tales, even when they stare you in your ignorant face.
The problem with that is it artificially keeps wages low while costs rise. After 60 years of failed trickle down economics we have an income disparity that can’t be fixed. Instead of properly raising wages during that time, they artificially kept costs low by subsidizing our necessities so we thought we were getting ahead until we see what we are seeing today. The costs are normalizing but wages are still way behind. Simping for the wealthy really has paid off.
If you are building new gyms, football stadiums and swimming pools while complaining that there isn’t enough money to pay teachers it’s a priority problem.
Tell me you don’t know anything about capital outlay funding without saying you know anything about capital outlay funding (and therefore, not much about school funding formulas at all)
The California Carley Crew and Cronies don’t care if public education struggles to fill positions. Rather than improve public education, they will point at its’ flaws as a reason to divert funds elsewhere.
ESL teachers are in high demand. How many of the foreign teachers were hired for language skills that Americans lack? Is there really a teacher shortage, or just a shortage of people with a particular skill set?
We should not be hiring non-citizens to educate the next generation of citizens.
Then pay them what they’re worth. South Dakota’s teachers are consistently paid among the lowest in the nation and there are still idiots here demanding we limit funding and accuse teachers of “always wanting more.”
And I will personally do my part to make sure that $13M is well spent.
The dumbing down of SD is real! When all rural schools are closed due to lack of teachers, & “teachers” in the classrooms do not have a college degree in education, & test scores continue to drop in comparison to the rest of the USA, & out of state companies refuse to locate in SD due to the inferior educational system, & unreasonable amounts of money are spent on sports and entertainment rather than on education, get ready to build even more prisons, as if you can’t support yourself comfortably, crime is your choice!
I see the KKK (Kory Klan of Kooks) is alive and well.
I talked to a teacher this week that is resigning at the end of their current contract. Not because of the wages. Not because they don’t like the profession. But largely because of the disrespect of parents and children. These disrespecting people are still the minority but their numbers are growing. School boards and administrators have to have their teachers back and not allow the negativity and disrespect gain hold. Teachers need to be able to take back their classrooms, hold students accountable with out fear of reprisal, and be able to provide adequate discipline and I’m not talking physical although in serious cases a teacher should be trained in restraint techniques to defend oneself.
Bingo!! I know of two different teachers that have retired just because of that exact reason. Parents are not wanting to be part of their kids education and success and just expect the teachers to be 100% responsible.
The other thing is that I have noticed at HS Career Days that I have attended is there is never one booth setup to promote teacher careers. Right in their backyards and they don’t have the ability to try to recruit future teachers.
Well, if there is one thing we know about MAGA, they are consistent in their values. We can say for certain there won’t be any immigrants teaching kids. I think the solution here would be to create some classrooms in the new prison, we make the prisoners teach the kids. Most “criminals” are just victims of the ever-expanding SD criminal code. When we get long hair (on men) and skirts above the knee to be a felony, we will have plenty of teachers.
Stupid post by a stupid liberal.
This guy probably still follows the Constitution, LOL. Apparently, you support waste and corruption.