Portmanteau du jour: Daugaard + reform = deform.
South Dakota's K-12 system is Lady Liberty. "You maniacs! You blew it up!"
As a measure of just how bad the outlook is for education in South Dakota politics, it qualifies as good news that the atrocious Tad Perry amendment to dissolve every teacher's due process rights under continuing contract was amended out of HB 1234 in the House yesterday. On that score, the bill that passed the House 41-28 yesterday is now only as bad as Governor Dennis Daugaard's original proposal. Taking the Paul Ryan tack for killing Medicare, Governor Daugaard lets teachers who currently have continuing contract rights keep them; he just prohibits anyone else from ever getting such due process.
However, the bill still stinks:
Now the state is considering a piece of legislation that purports to be a way to improve education, but it has not one provision in it that actually addresses the factors that have stalled the achievements of public school students. In the name of improving education, the legislation is totally devoted to disenfranchising the teachers, the workers of education, by maligning them, taking away their due process, and offering rewards only to those who conform to the political agenda. It is significant that in devising this legislation, teachers have been totally excluded from the process of forming it and have been treated as a group of unwanted aliens that must be dealt with harshly [David Newquist, "Vergangenheitsbewältigung," Northern Valley Beacon, 2012.02.13].
Conscientious education leaders are trying to get the Legislature to look at policies with evidence to back them. They are meeting with deaf ears:
[Aberdeen school] Board member Mike Miller doesn't think merit pay for teachers is the way to go.
"If we really want student achievement, we have to have a data-based plan; something that shows that student achievement can be accomplished," Miller said.
Miller wants to see money invested in higher pay for teachers, smaller class sizes in the elementary and further staff development. He exchanged e-mails with the governor who argues the current system isn't producing an increase in student achievement that matches an increase in funding throughout the years [Erich Schaffhauser, "Aberdeen Board Examines Teacher Bonus Plan," KELOLand.com, 2012.02.13].
Governor Daugaard, your ability to manufacture a comparison of apples-and-oranges numbers does not absolve you of the need to provide evidence that your preferred "solution" to your fabricated "problem" will work.
The Displaced Plainsman reminds me that the House will likely get another crack at this assault on teachers, logic, and evidence. The Senate will likely amend, and the House will have to concur. This junker got 28 nays yesterday, including nine Republicans. Rep. Stace Nelson was on the DL yesterday; when he gets back, he may will bring the nays to 29. Out of 41 remaining legislators, we need to find just six more legislators who can be persuaded by evidence, or cookies, or the fear of defeat at the hands of an angry referral-fired electorate that HB 1234 is the wrong answer to the wrong problem.
If someone could show me studies that demonstrated merit pay for teacher improved students test scores, then I'd be willing to support it. The studies cited by Daniel Pink tells us that pay for performance in creative field does not work and can produce negative results. Last year, the governor told us that we had to cut school funding. Why should we now waste millions of dollars of the taxpayers money?
If you want to turn 6 votes you need to stop the general attack on merit pay and instead focus on the Common Core Standards that are part of the criteria on which the merit pay will be based. It is due to federal standards and testing that we have a 65% increase in administrative headcount during a period in which student headcount dropped 28.5%. The governor's plan does not fix that, but instead will make the system more costly while not improving student achievement. We need to focus on the governor's real agenda...providing human capital for the global economy. And have a little French cheese with that wine.
My other Rep is Jon Hansen and no hope there. What ever the Governor wants Hansen does it.
You have your water to carry, Steve, and I have mine. Defeat HB 1234 first. You and I can negotiate on the replacement later.
Steve,
If you're serious about trading merit pay no votes for no common core votes, you're already ahead. HB 1128 passed the House. After the hearings that the bill requires, SD can get rid of any Common Core mandates it has.
Since you've got what you want, I want to see some hard core lobbying against HB 1234 from you.
This pretty much kills any ideas I had for teaching in South Dakota. Why would I want to come teach in a state that doesn't value its teachers? I shall take my 9/11 GI Bill to Wyoming!
Cory, it would seem that the margin in the House may predict easy passage in the Senate no matter what the electorate thinks.
Michael, you are right. Fascism trumps socialism, or RINOs trump Democrats.
Montana Cowgirl: NWO theorist files for legislature; he's a Dem!
Great movie!