The Senate Education Committee advanced a bill Thursday seeking to cap the salary of school administrators.
The bill sponsor says it would close the gap between admin and teachers, but opponents say it’s the wrong solution to the teacher pay question.
It’s well-known South Dakota struggles to find a competitive wage for its educators, and one lawmaker says the gap between the superintendents and principal pay could quell educator discontent.
Sen. Sue Peterson, a Sioux Falls Republican, said the bill would cap admin pay at three times average teacher pay for a local school district. To raise that figure, teacher pay would need to rise first.
“Our teachers remain ranked 49th out of 50 states in teacher pay," Peterson said. "Meanwhile, South Dakota administrators rank 16th out of 50. Our teachers are last, and our administrators are near the top. That’s wrong.”
However, the bill was widely opposed by the state education lobby. The state Education Association, which advocates for teachers, was opposed to the proposal. Sandra Waltman spoke on the group’s behalf.
“It does come down to the issue of local control," Waltman said. "It comes down to our school districts being able to have the tools they need to recruit good leadership to their districts.”
Others compared the cap to the $600,000 salary paid to the manager of the state retirement system – often regarded as the best in the nation. Opponents argue that salary pays for that quality.
Sioux Falls Democratic Sen. Jamie Smith, assistant minority leader, described it as a well-intentioned, if misguided, effort to raise awareness for teacher pay.
“I appreciate this discussion, and I do think it’s very important we point out our teacher pay is close to the bottom again, and we definitely need to work on that," Smith said. "I would say we need to work to get the other one up, not push the other one down. I think we have two different discussions going on here.”
The bill was advanced on a 4-3 vote.