Oh yeah, the budget! says the South Dakota Legislature as it careens down Mount Resolution into the last days of the 2014 Session. Legislators are finally getting revenue projections from the Governor's office this morning, leaving them five work days to figure out how to spend about four billion dollars ($1.7 billion of which will be burdensome, unreliable, debt-driving cash from the federal government).
According to Mr. Montgomery's Sunday report, legislators are working to provide the 3% boost to K-12 education, medical providers, and state employees that Governor Dennis Daugaard asked for. They are also debating whether they can boost teacher pay:
“Beyond the big three, things that are important to us are a little bit more money for education, above and beyond 3 percent,” [Senate Majority Leader Tim] Rave said, specifically highlighting teacher pay as something his caucus wants to address. And he said Senate Republicans want that funding to be ongoing money, “if it’s there,” rather than one-time bonuses.
[House Majority Leader David] Lust, on the other hand, said House Republicans are talking only about one-time extra spending [David Montgomery, "State Budget Picture Eludes Clarity Going into Final Week," that Sioux Falls paper, 2014.03.09].
We've heard this Daugaardian caution before, not to spend one-time money on ongoing expenses. But, practically speaking, who cares?
Teachers, suppose your legislators ask your advice (ah, such fantasy!). "We're doing a budget trick that frees up 30 million in one-time cash. We could take a third of that and give each of you a $1000 bonus this year. But there's no guarantee we can do the same thing next year. What do you think?" How many of you teachers will reply, "Oh, keep that filthy one-time money away from me"?
Do we do any harm to teachers, students, or schools by giving them a bonus this year with no promise or expectation of the same bonus next year?
Two Things:
1. The legislature just got the budget projections +Today+!?! Pitiful governance.
2. BONUSES, YES!!!!!
Please dont give teachers anything, my daughter went to Maryland making about 60 grand.Please gov dont fund teachers pay want all my kids to get great pay teaching out of state.
There you go. Moses just described how well Republican policies have been working in SD.
The quote is from the Argus Leader article. I posted that and my thoughts on line yesterday on the Argus.
"Just two years ago, the fund provided close to $15 million. In December, Daugaard revealed new projections of more than $60 million in ongoing money — plus more than $30 million in one-time receipts."
And this is a State that likes to brag about its not having an income tax and how fair its money raising is. It taxes food purchased at the grocery stores at 4% with another two by the city, but new autos at 3% as opposed to all neighboring states at 5% and any new vehicle purchased here by an out of stater, has to pay the other 2% to their own state. But getting back to the quote from the article our state lives off the money raised from unclaimed monies in credit cards, interest off tobacco settlements, and of course the scams that it pulls in the EB-5 program. Really makes one proud to be a South Dakotan. NOT
By the way, I disagree with a bonus. I think that it should be an increase of at least 3.8% that the Senate was talking about, but I would think if they were being legitimate at all they would restore the cut from two years ago and add on another 3.8%. That would leave us only 5 thousand below the next lowest teacher pay in the nation.