Is South Dakota's Plan To Raise Teacher Pay Already Off Course?

In Sioux Falls, it’s cuts to special education programs.

In Harrisburg, it’s the inability to give salary increases.

And in the Highmore-Harold School District, it's the possibility of cutting a bus route for children who live 45 miles away.

Three years after lawmakers overhauled South Dakota's education funding formula to raise teacher salaries, superintendents say the new system is already off track. For the last two years, the state hasn’t delivered on the funding it promised under 2016 laws to help local school districts increase last-in-the-nation teacher pay and stay competitive.

About Swier School Law Counsel™

Swier School Law Counsel™ is a boutique education law department within Swier Law Firm.

We recognize the needs of South Dakota's school officials to obtain first-rate legal advice on a broad range of issues. Our attorneys provide creative, timely, and cost-efficient legal strategies that balance the needs of students, parents, employees, and citizens with the interests of keeping a school district on solid legal footing.

Swier School Law Counsel™ and its attorneys author The South Dakota School Law Deskbook™ and South Dakota School Law Notes™. The Group's attorneys also have years of experience teaching the popular "Education and the Law" class at the University of South Dakota School of Law.

Swier Law Firm has served as legal counsel for school districts throughout the state and for the School Administrators of South Dakota and its membership. SASD is an educational association comprised of over 800 school administrators (Superintendents, Business Managers, Principals, Special Education Directors, and Curriculum Directors) throughout South Dakota.