Governor Dennis Daugaard’s Blue Ribbon Task Force Barely Earns White Ribbon [OPINION]

The Blue Ribbon Task Force appointed by the Governor and chaired by Sioux Falls Senator Deb Soholt to make recommendations on our low teacher pay and scarcity of teacher situation barely qualifies for a white ribbon.

For those of you not brought up in 4-H purple is the best, meaning it meets all standards. Blue conveys the effort meets most standards. Red stands for meeting some standards. Finally, white means the effort meets few standards and generally lacks quality.

Many hours of testimony, brainstorming, and discussion produced a report on the situation today. The Task Force did NOT make specific recommendations to fix what is clearly broken. They did put forth concepts, but not enough to warrant more than the white ribbon.

The governor will accept the report. The legislature and the general public will be able to access it for their thoughtful consideration.

I hope our elected leadership will have the courage to lead. This issue has been festering for many years. Band aids have been used once or twice, but no bold cure has been proposed. There is plenty of talking, but no action.

It is disappointing to live in a state where people say they value education, and yet when it comes to paying for it, the room empties and the few left point to somebody else to pay the bill.

According to the Task Force report we are about $70 million away from making a difference on teacher pay and availability. There are fewer people becoming teachers. Pay is one of the issues. Respect for the profession is another.

We want our children to stay here and contribute to the greater good. Yet the profession which educates them is being treated poorly. Sure our test scores are OK, but think of the additional motivation which can be provided by a quality teacher, who is financially secure, and enthusiastic about their role molding creative young minds.

I hope you will join me and contact your legislators and the Governor to let them know we expect definitive action on this issue which is critical to the future of our state.