Hey, who's that out in this evening's Rapid City rain near Baken Park exercising his First Amendment rights?
That's Dick Rossum, standing at Main and Mountain View, urging folks to smile and vote no on Referred Law 16. Rossum's not a teacher, but his daughter Teresa Leite is. He knows Referred Law 16 won't help Teresa do a better job for her first-graders at Black Hawk Elementary.
Rossum was joined by a couple carloads of Black Hawk teachers who would rather get wet than get hammered by Governor Daugaard's bad education policy. Here we see fifth-grade teacher Kristi Hammell and special ed teacher Tasha Ellingson spreading the word.
The October 2012 Dakota Poll finds South Dakotans tilting against Referred Law 16, but only by a 52-to-46 margin. (Expect more on that poll in a later post.) Pair that with the Nielson Brothers finding that there may be slightly more Yes than No votes on RL16, with a third of the electorate still undecided, and that tells me we need every poster waver we can get out on the street corners urging people to save our schools from bad policy!
(We'll also need some bigger fonts for Kristi and Tasha! It's rush hour, people are glancing up from their iPhones for maybe a half-second; NO and 16 each need 12-inch letters!)
Note from a passerby: I met a nice lady in the neighborhood of this afternoon's Baken Park protest. She said that her husband, a fairly conservative Republican to the best of my knowledge, says that voting no on Referred Law 16 is a "no-brainer." Again, Referred Law 16 isn't a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. It's a good-policy, common-sense issue. Referred Law 16 won't work. Vote it down, and let's talk about policies that will produce real results during the 2013 Legislative session!
Great job to teachers showing that are voices must be heard. Thanks to the Madville Times for helping us get the word out.
Teachers seem very protective of their cushy tenure. But the best the very best teacher anywhere is in favor of this 16 thing. I am yet undecided, but it seems that most of the good teachers favor it. Not all, but most.
I have been outspoken in my opposition to HB1234(R16) since the get go. From the beginning, I have made a challenge to any educator that if they favor HB1234, let me know whether it be by FB, e-mail, snail mail, phone call, in person, etc. I have yet to have a single educator tell me they favor HB1234. There is no support whatsoever in the education community for HB1234.
This person is the National Educator of the Year
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hG1PuJxn-1A
She knows she'd get a big bump in salary, and I am all in favor of the best teachers in our state getting more money.
Cushy tenure as the lowest paid teachers in the Union?
I think it is a fair bet that being the only educator on the state outside the Mitchell Superintendent (who wants a political career granted by DD) would guarantee her a bonus. So along with Pearson, we now have three parties that stand to benefit.
I hope they pay for it with a regressive sales tax since you offered your dole to pay for it. Very noble while also supporting tax cuts for the wealthy. You are a true humanitarian, Nick.
Lowest paid plumbers, welders, lawyers, cna's, mechanics, barbers, nurses......
Something about choosing to live in a state with the lowest costs in many areas, low population and 9 reservations full of poverty somehow relates to the above.
Yes Larry, I know ur out there waiting for me with ur drones.
Divides between rich and poor in South Dakota are nothing compared to what they are in Montana and New Mexico: the reasons remain a mystery to this interested party.
Grud. You are saying that "most of the good teachers are for it (16)"...did you do some polling or have access to a poll of good teachers on 16? I guess I haven't seen that data shared anywhere.
We should all be proud of Ms. Keegan and thank her for her dedication to teaching. She is one of 40 teachers honored nationally after being nominated by their Governor's Department of Education. The award is given to teachers who are early- to mid-career educators who offer strong long-range potential for professional and policy leadership.
While I may disagree with Ms. Keegan on 16, I certainly respect both her work and her opinion. I'm also guessing that even with the $25K award, she is underpaid for the value she provides South Dakota.
Regional airline pilots make less than teachers, work longer hours while millions of lives depend on their ability and performance Jana.
Teachers all know what they will be making when they enter that profession and choose a location to exercise their choice.
Overpaid and underpaid workers, always has and always will be a dilemma.
Les, SD is nowhere near the lowest cost state in the Union. We currently rank 26th in lowest cost of living. You can blame our infatuation with supporting overpriced medical care for much of that drop.
It isn't "the old days" anymore.