Why has this idea taken so long to take off?

Business Manager Todd Vik said a proposed change in state law would let the district scrap precincts in favor of 10 or so voting centers, each of which would be open to all eligible voters. Networked electronic voting books at each polling place would ensure no one votes twice.

I have often wondered why we haven’t done all elections in the city like this? I know for a fact that city clerk Debra Owen has always pushed to make city elections more accessible and I think this is the time to implement such a program. There are many benefits to; you can still keep the paper ballot and you save money by having fewer precincts and you encourage voting. I have often been an advocate of holding elections on Saturdays and Sundays (A Bob Dole idea) but since that may never happen I think this is a great solution. I have often felt that the city fathers prefer making elections complicated that way fewer voters turnout to the polls, which benefits them. Remember, Mayor Munson was elected by fewer then 9% of Sioux Falls residents. Is that even democratic?

Once again, Dr. Homan has proven it is all about her. I find it ironic that she told subs no to a pay increase in Sioux Falls, even though they are not competitive with surrounding communities, but has no problem raking it in for herself. You would think with this giant recession and over 40% of the district’s kids on free or reduced lunches Homan (who BTW has a PHD) would be intelligent enough to ask for a smaller raise.

She will make $175,882 this year.

Under the new contract, which starts July 1, she will make $181,000 in her first year and see her pay increase each year by the same percentage as the district’s teachers.

How would you like to get a $5,000 a year raise, every year for 5 years straight? Besides the wage increase hypocrisy, you gotta love this quote;

“Sioux Falls is my home. I love Sioux Falls. It’s where I belong,” she said. “That’s why they get me for such a good deal.”

First off, you live out of town (because of your precious horses) and don’t even pay property taxes in the school district that pays your wages (still wondering when you are going to follow that rule) and secondly, $181,000 is not a good deal. I’m having trouble thinking of one single public official who makes that much in Sioux Falls. I think the highest paid city employee makes $150,000(?). Anyone wanna do some digging for me?

Theresa was addressing the SF school board about substitute teacher pay last night. She basically showed the school board the disparity between sub pay and full-time pay. It is pretty shocking.

Three years ago the substitutes here in Sioux falls were getting $80 a day. (Actually it was about 3 and a half years ago) After visiting  with friends that fall who were subbing in the surrounding districts, I discovered that many of those schools were paying more than Sioux Falls. I then called the School board president and inquired about how they determined sub pay for Sioux Falls. I discovered in our conversation, that he was under the impression that subs were represented by SDEA in salary negotiations each spring. I informed him that we were not part of that organization and were not getting periodic pay raises like the teachers.  I also had the same conversation with people in the human resource department. About 2 weeks after those conversations, the substitutes received a letter informing us that we were very important to the district, and that we would be getting a pay raise from $80 a day to $90 a day. This was a wonderful gesture of appreciation from the school district at that time. This fall, at the in-service for the substitutes, the issue of pay rates in our area came up again. Realizing that the area schools were once again paying more than Sioux Falls, and that our substitutes had not had a pay raise in these 3 years, I felt that perhaps conversations with the school board, the superintendent, and Todd Vik would be helpful in bringing about some added compensation. I do appreciate being able to visit with each one of you this fall. After I talked with each one of you, I called the Superintendents and business managers in the surrounding schools, and have compiled the information about sub pay, and 1^st year teacher salaries.    I was very impressed with the way West Central and Tea have worked out a system to pay a higher wage to the substitutes with a South Dakota Teaching certificate.  I also think that those districts that implement a permanent pay increase after 10 or 15 days are wise for rewarding people for their total length of service for the year. I think it is important for the public to understand what a teacher makes each day. I choose the lowest teacher daily rate to make a point that substitutes are stepping in and working to keep the flow of education happening at a bargain price. (My friends who have a $50,000 salary are making $256 a day) As you know, the substitutes have no bargaining power within the school district. I was surprised to learn in my discussions with you this fall that the teachers, nurses, secretaries, cooks, custodians, principals, and support staff of the district are all represented, and protected by unions.  These organized labor groups negotiate pay increases, benefits and employee rights each year. Most of these groups get a cost of living increase annually. I was told that the only groups of workers who did not get a pay increase last year were the substitutes and the seasonal people who mow the lawn. You have many talented, dedicated, hardworking people who are willing to use their education to help the students in our school. They are the substitutes. These people are a vital part of the system and we are entrusting them to educate our students in the absence of the teacher. The substitutes need to be compensated on a regular basis, (Just like the other employees in the school) for their commitment, experience and education.

AREA SUBSTITUTE PAY RATES AND FIRST YEAR TEACHER SALARIES

WEST CENTRAL SIOUX DISTRICT

528-3217

South Dakota Certified substitute—–$107 a day

Non- certified substitute—————–$97 a day

Starting teacher salary– $30,000 # of contract days—176                                                                      starting teacher pay per day –$170

TEA SCHOOL DISTRICT

498-2700

South Dakota Certified Substitute——–$100 a day *($110 after 30 days)

Four year degree substitute———$85 a day *($95 after 30 days)

Non-certified substitute———-$75 a day *($85 after 30 days)

*All three groups get a PERMANENT $5 pay RAISE per day after 15 days of service. All three groups get a SECOND PERMANENT $5 pay RAISE per day after the next 15 days of service.

Starting teacher salary—$28,450 # of contract days—181

Starting teacher pay per day—–$157

HARRISBURG SCHOOL DISTRICT

743-2567

All Substitutes ——-$95 a day

PERMANENT pay RAISE to $110 a day after the first 10 days.

Starting teacher salary—$31,300 # of contract days 180

Starting teacher pay per day——$174

BRANDON SCHOOL DISTRICT

582-2058

All Substitutes—-$85 a day

Starting teacher salary—-$32,767 # of contract days    183

Starting teacher pay per day——-$179

SIOUX FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT

All Substitutes—-$90 a day

All substitutes get a TEMPORARY pay increase of $25 for substituting for 5 consecutive days.

Starting teacher salary—-$32,000 # of contract days    188

Starting teacher pay per day——-$170

While I disagree with this parent group’s intentions (shortening the school year), I agree 100% with putting this issue to a vote. It is blatantly obvious that Homan and the School Board are inept in solving problems and listening to parents.

“We have a right to make decisions about our kids and we want to be heard about it and we want the people we elected to listen to us.” Rhonda Lockwood is one of several Sioux Falls parents who came to the board meeting, armed with 3,000 letters from parents who want the school year to start after Labor Day, saying Sioux Falls kids get short changed out of three weeks of summer time and family time.

Paul Jennings has been following it from the start and says if school is delayed, it would throw off semester testing schedules and potentially hurt kids who are already struggling in school. “If they have to wait 2 weeks after christmas to take their tests, they surely would not be in the passing category.”

Like I said above, I don’t agree with their intentions, Paul is right, kids actually should be in school more instead of less, but I also agree parents should have the right to make that decision, I’ll give these parents credit for being directly involved with their kid’s education.

From Stormland TV News;

But the idea of a school completely removing access to a book is troubling to others.

“I don’t like the idea of just taking a book out because someone has an issue with it. Really, that’s more the parents job. I feel that we can look at those with kinds; we can talk about what is in the book. It really shouldn’t be the school job to teach the kids that, that’s a parent issue I believe,” Sara Green said.

Green likens this decision to the Harry Potter books, which were removed from some schools. No matter where parents stand on this most recent book debate, they all agree that parent-student communication is critical.

“I think it’s important for a parent and a child to be open with each other. But it also should be the parents decision to decide what’s best for them,” Giblin said.

“They’re exposed to it whether it’s in the book or not, so maybe it is a good thing to have there for a parent to have that frank discussion with their child to teach them what is and isn’t appropriate about it,” Green said.

Exactly! Why do some parents think they know what is best for other people’s kids?

Like I have said on several occasions, I thank the Lorde Jezus I don’t have kids. One more reason;

A graphic novel about middle-school life has been taken off the shelves at Sioux Falls schools after a parent complained about cartoons containing foul language, sexual references and teen smoking.

Editor Ariel Schrag’s “Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age” will be available only to teachers for checkout.

Here is the full Gargoyle story. This comment made me laugh;

She said the message a student draws from a cartoon might be a bad one.

Yes, those evil cartoonists and editorial satirists how dare they use humor to drive a point home. But Shrag fights back;

Schrag found that logic puzzling. The positive resolution to a cartoon is how the reader relates the story to his own experiences, she said. “Not all stories have a happy ending.”

Really? I thought everything was sunshine and butterflies in Sioux Falls?

“I think a prose book that would have similar content would go unnoticed,” Schrag said. “It’s a lot easier I think to sort of demonize graphic novels. It kind of comes down to laziness.”

And ignorance.

While the Gargoyle Leader constantly rails that teachers need to get paid better, apparently they only mean full-time teachers;

While some people are concerned that substitute rates don’t reflect full-time teachers’ salaries, the daily amount that Sioux Falls substitutes get is a fair rate on several levels.

For one thing, the $90 daily salary is well within the range that is paid in neighboring school districts.

Brandon Valley pays $85.

Harrisburg pays $95.

West Central is the highest, with $107.

I guess they forgot to mention the teeny-weeny town of Tea, SD pays $115 a day. It is no secret who the AL is talking about when they say ‘While some people’ , Theresa Stehly, who is heading up the effort for more sub pay. The AL still has sour grapes over the indoor pool vote and any chance they get they will try to get back at her about it, even chiding KSFY into dedicating a segment tonight about a new indoor pool (drop it already, voters rejected it, move on).

The irony of all this is that the subs gave the School District the opportunity to raise the rate on their own by simply asking them to, but now that they said no to a raise and got the AL to cheerlead the effort, it could blowup in their faces. My assumption is that the subs will now organize and join the SDNEA and have them negotiate a pay raise. Once again the SFSD passed up an opportunity and now it will cost them. Go Figure.

Here we go again, designing a facility that is too extravagant for Sioux Falls, and not having a way to pay for it. I think Kate Parker’s unemotional Spock stare says it all;

School board members say they don’t need a new Howard Wood, but they’ll be happy to build it to make room for a new city events center – as long as someone else pays for the upgrade.

And who is gonna pay for it? Mickey F’ing Mouse? Get a clue.

I also found this letter to the editor informative. I think Joe sat on one of the original Event Center taskforces? I have met Joe on a couple of occasions, he is very bright and intuitive, and considering he an urban planner, he just might know what he is talking about;

The events center task force deserves praise for having dedicated countless hours to public meetings and fostering a transparent process. But its current proposal – a new facility to be located adjacent to the Sioux Falls Convention Center – falls short as an economically sustainable venture, as experts recently have illustrated. Thus, it is imperative for the task force to rethink its proposal.

The proposal does not maximize the potential for economic development, which is the most significant criterion. Furthermore, the task force has assumed the proposed location can leverage the current Sioux Falls Arena and the convention space. This assumption is over-emphasized and problematic because it disregards current trends in the convention center industry.

There is a glut of convention floor space across the nation, which makes for cutthroat competition among cities trying to attract conventions. “Cities can no longer just build convention center space and expect to get their fair share of demand,” according to Hans Detlefsen, an industry expert. “There is not enough business to go around.”

Joe, I suggest you will have more luck banging your head against the wall instead of trying to convince the task force otherwise. It is no secret that Terri Ellis Schmidt (Head of CVB) has them in a chokehold and she is running the show.

Some Other Problems With The Current Proposal Are:

• Using a new events center for conventions thwarts efforts to attract concerts, as Omaha experienced.

• It is unwise to have multiple facilities at one location because simultaneous events will proliferate traffic congestion.

•  The convention center site significantly diminishes opportunities for patrons to bike, walk or take public transit to events. Furthermore, traffic studies indicate downtown as a suitable site.

You only list THREE PROBLEMS!? I could fill a newspaper.

If the task force cannot take the long view on this issue, then it would be better not to build a new events center rather than make a 50-year mistake.

That’s gotta burn.

Theresa Stehly told me today she is fighting for higher (competitive) substitute teacher pay. She is only asking it equals what surrounding communities are paying. Subs get paid $90 a day in the SF school district, she is asking it gets raised to $115. She has been contacting school board members and basically saying she would like to see them raise it on their own without getting the teacher’s union involved. There is approximately 600 subs in the SF School District.

Currently the Harrisburg School District pays $110 a day and Tea, SD pays $115 a day.