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Sioux Falls Paper Suggests Merit Pay as “Compromise” for Teacher Pay

...sure, compromise effective policy, compromise best practices, compromise our souls...

I learn from Michael Larson that the meatheads at that Sioux Falls paper think that the "solution" to low teacher pay is for teachers to compromise and accept the worst part of HB 1234, Daugaard's 2012 merit pay proposal. Wow—it's as if Daugaard and the Republicans are determined to squeeze us long enough and hard enough that we'll surrender to anything, even bad policy that's been proven not to work. (On the failure of merit pay, see also this presentation from 2012.)

Meanwhile, the corporate media crassly tries to spin South Dakota's teacher shortage as just one more spoke in their spinning wheel of anti-union propaganda.

Mr. Larson invokes Patrick Henry. I invoke Nazis. In World War II, we didn't say, "O.K., Adolf, let's compromise. How about you only kill a few thousand Jews?" Killing Jews is bad policy. So is merit pay.

South Dakota teachers have compromised their lifetime earnings potential. South Dakota teachers have compromised on professional reputation and lucrative opportunities elsewhere. South Dakota teachers have compromised on personal and cultural opportunities for their children.

South Dakota teachers have compromised enough. No more tricks, no more back-door insults to the profession, no further degradation of their professional autonomy. It's time for South Dakota to pay teachers what they are worth.

16 Comments

  1. o 2014.12.08

    A line from the article says, "Daugaard wanted to make a statewide teacher evaluation system mandatory and partially use student performance to impose merit-based bonuses. Voters said no by a 2-to-1 margin."

    Before the union bashing begins, it bears noticing that since the defeat of 1234, the DOE and SDEA have been working together (with some administrators and school board members) to create a best practices based evaluation tool for SD. A model that I am proud to have worked on is now the basis for teacher evaluation in this state. It includes focus on both in-class observation and evidence of student performance growth (through Student Learning Objectives created by the teachers and administrator that look at the specifics of each situation - not some abstract state/national evaluation). We have a good evaluation system now; something that has gone unmentioned and un-noticed outside the field. The "union" wants strong evaluations and hight standards; we also want evaluations that do what they were designed to do; improve teacher instruction and student learning.

    As for the merit pay, this is the trap of thinking that low teacher salaries is not a universal problem in our state, but only a selective few "good teachers" suffer from this salary neglect. It is the way to nickel and dime small answers (and allocations of funds) to big problems. Certainly low salaries isn't the fault of unions, as I do not know of a single local arguing for the stagnation of wages and the perpetuation of staff shortages. Let's get who is on the side of reform straight in this discussion.

  2. Moses 2014.12.08

    DO nothing will do nothing until, their is only about ten teachers left they will look into it.Maybe L.Tidemann can say we will tke a look at it then do nothing as usual.

  3. JeniW 2014.12.08

    The flip side of "merit raise" is that it conveys to the teachers who for whatever reasons will never get a raise that they are not working "hard enough," or are not "good enough" to deserve a raise.

  4. John Tsitrian 2014.12.08

    Lana Greenfield? If you're out there, I would love to see your thoughts on the subject.

  5. bearcreekbat 2014.12.08

    Perhaps this is another case of poor framing of the problem to be solved. Many people do not feel sorry for teachers. Some even envy their salaries, vacation days, summers, etc. So when the issue is framed as "too low teacher pay and benefits" this hits many ears that will not listen (thanks Sibby).

    What if we simply stop talking about teacher pay, and start talking about losing good teachers and our inability to hire the best. What must SD do to attract a sufficient number of qualified teachers needed by our schools? Put that question to the legislators and see what sort of solutions they come up with. By assuming that teacher pay is the only cause of the problem, we ask a controversial question - should teachers be paid more?

    But by recognizing a different problem, we can ask a non-controversial question - Is it important to find and keep an adequate number of qualified teachers needed by our schools? I would speculate that many more folks would answer the second question in the affirmative. Once we come to this agreement, then perhaps more folks would be open to increased teacher pay as part of the solution.

  6. GoJacksJC 2014.12.08

    Ok, so the argument seems to be that teachers are one of the most influential factors in students' performance (with little regard for SES, differences in infrastructure, etc.), so why don't we give the Governor a dose of his own fiscal medicine and say "your policies as 'South Dakota's #1 Salesman' (http://sd.gov/governor/aboutdennis.aspx) have not addressed teacher shortages, despite the fact that you have had a full term to do so; therefore, we are instituting merit-based pay for you, Governor Daugaard"? If his policies result in increased teacher hiring, he gets paid; if not, then he goes back to the drawing board. I am sure he can afford it, because we all know he does his own home improvement at the Governor's Mansion.

    By the way, does Godwin's Law apply if Nazis are mentioned at the outset of a blog post?

  7. toclayco 2014.12.08

    Just so we are all on the same page, the Sioux Falls paper likes to think of itself as a watchdog. It's just not going to watch that closely.
    And it can reliably be depended upon to take the Chamber or Capitol view is all matters of substance. It is in those halls that its bread is buttered.

  8. WayneF 2014.12.08

    I and several in my cohort have retired, moved, or left public teaching in this state not only because of the low salary but also because of the arrogant treatment of well-educated professionals who have enormous responsibilities yet are treated as part-time hired help. You know ... those people who clean out your barns and paint your outbuildings. Nothing wrong with those jobs ... I've done them both. But anybody who's ever been to school is apparently an "expert" in education.

    Great idea to apply "merit pay" policies to Daugaard and other elected legislators. Let's come up with a measure for what he does and doesn't get done. Hey! Thune and Noem, too! Thay haven't accomplished much, even though they're well paid. No prediction about Rounds, but I don't have high expectations.

    I am so tired of all the plans to "fix" public education in this state and nation. The solutions are very obvious. Support teachers for what they do. "Bad" teachers can be fired if administrators have guts and are willing to follow procedures. Oh, and there would be less of a "bad teacher" problem if states and local school districts supported and respected the "good" ones.

  9. Craig 2014.12.08

    "It's time for South Dakota to pay teachers what they are worth."

    Sorry Cory, but we passed that point years ago... and yet it still doesn't seem to have any effect. Those who are elected to represent us in Pierre clearly care more about their own self-preservation than they do about education in South Dakota, because if they honestly cared about students, about teachers, and about the future of our state - they would never have let South Dakota rank 50th (or 51st) in teacher pay year after year after year.

    I don't expect us to rank in the top 10, I don't even expect the top 30, but years of being a distant last place has to end. We know pay isn't everything, and maybe it won't help incentivize a teacher to be more effective in the classroom, but we do know we will not attract the best and brightest when pay is commensurate to what a manager at a local fast food restaurant* earns in a year.

    The truth is pay probably doesn't have an impact today, but most certainly does tomorrow. The current generation of teachers who have been in the profession most likely aren't about to leave after 20+ years, but those college students who were elementary education majors might consider swapping for something with greater earning potential, and those that do stick it out and graduate near the top of their class are most likely headed outside of our borders to secure a teaching position.

    So ask yourselves if we are really getting the best teachers? Surely we get a lot of great teachers through sheer dumb luck, but it seems obvious we would attract even more of them if we acted as if they were worth it.

    Perhaps this issue is somewhat due to supply and demand, because although some smaller schools struggle to find a math or science teacher, most don't really have an issue. The larger cities attract dozens of applications for every opening - so one might think there is no shortage of teachers... and they may be right, but I can't help but wonder about the strength of the teachers we do attract. Are they the best and brightest? Perhaps - but if that is true... how much longer until our luck runs out?

    Time to start taxing advertising and raise the fees for license plates in our state (with a focus upon those who register an RV but spend less than 100 days within our borders). I'm sure we can find a number of special programs to slash as well - and every penny we capture should be directed towards education. No fancy budget gimmicks, no shifting cash from one bucket to the next - just divert it to education and let each district determine how to best utilize the funds. I'd put money on the fact that teacher salaries are on the top of their wish lists, and when each and every district in the state is competing with one another for the best teachers, I'm sure they will do the right thing.

    *No offense to those who work in fast food - we need you too... but you aren't required to have a four year degree or hundreds if not thousands of hours of continuing education during your career, nor do you have a direct impact upon the success of our students which follows them through their lives and future careers.

  10. o 2014.12.08

    Craig wrote, "The larger cities attract dozens of applications for every opening - so one might think there is no shortage of teachers... "

    I really do not believe that is the case now. Superintendents are finding that they may have a pool of applicants, but they are all interviewing the same five teachers for their five different districts' openings. Even in the larger districts there are limited options for many of the positions - there are plenty of examples where districts hire the one and only applicant that is actually available to them.

    All of this means that students in SD get short-changed. Either through the elimination of programs and options because of staffing or the increasing pressure to raise class sizes because of strained staffing and funding.

    Both branches of government in Pierre treat education like bill that has to be paid instead of an investment in the future of our state and the economic development of our cities.

    I agree with bearcreekbat that this is an issue of framing the discussion: education is "investment" not "cost" or "entitlement" or "burden."

  11. grudznick 2014.12.08

    o, how do those superintendents pick the best from the 5 applicants?

  12. o 2014.12.08

    grudznick, I presume quickly; before other schools take their top choices.

  13. grudznick 2014.12.08

    Ah, so there is some consistent manner in which different schools would come to identifying who the best teachers are. Good to know. Good to know.

  14. o 2014.12.09

    grudznick, are you attempting to argue the "empty chair" again? Of course there are ways to establish who are the best candidates: experience, education, even basic qualifications for placement in the desired job.

    Don't try to blur the lines of what "merit pay" is. Most districts now pay teachers more for greater experience and greater education. Those are objective measures that help point to attributes that make teachers more successful in student instruction instruction.

  15. barry freed 2014.12.09

    How much do Computers cost Rapid City Schools? Are the bids competitive?
    Why does RCPS pay $4 million per year to scrap their computers instead of selling at auction as the State Law demands? $4 million, plus sales receipts of old computers, wouldn't that provide an increase for Teacher pay?
    Why is RCPS paying out $500,000 in "lawsuit settlements" every month?
    They wouldn't pay $15 per hour for a tech who could work on District boilers, so they instead hired Johnson Controls at $11K per month retainer, plus any work done.
    Does the Superintendent need the $5K+ membership at Arrowhead Country Club paid for him?
    Ask anyone who works for the RCPS and the "waste" list goes on and on, in every department.
    There is plenty of money, so we don't need more taxes, we need to know where the money is going in order to spend smarter and direct the money to those who actually do something.
    The last license plate fee doubling over three years was on Non-commercial vehicles only. The Lawmakers did not raise license taxes on their own business vehicles even though we ALL use the roads. They will do the same again, and it won't loosen any funds for education.
    Sorry to tell you, but until you see the Books, you don't have a clue what you are talking about or how to fix things.

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