Governor Dennis Daugaard is proposing a task force to study education in South Dakota.
Daugaard says the summer study group should reevaluate the state education funding formula and seek answers to tough questions facing school districts.
“ We need to ask where the teacher shortages are occurring, the degree they’re occurring, and what we can done to address them. We need to also need to ask why 12 states have less revenue per student and yet are able to pay teachers more than South Dakota. We also need to ask as we hear concerns about teacher salaries why many schools reserve funds are growing. And these questions need answers based on data not on anecdotes, not on opinion surveys, we need hard data,” says Daugaard.
Daugaard says the task force needs to include teachers, school administrators, parents plus elected officials.
Daugaard says the task force needs to seek ways to sustain high student achievement, along with a workforce of great teachers, under an efficient and equitable funding system.
Many Democrats in Pierre have been critical of Governor Daugaards office for not focusing enough on increasing education funding in the state.
