Secretary's Column
By Dr. Rick Melmer
Department of Education

Halftime

As you read this column, it is the halfway point of the 2007 legislative session. This year is a 40-day session, and it will be a session that features an animated discussion about education from beginning to end. This is my 4^th session in the Department of Education and this has been, by far, the busiest session thus far. The topic of education surfaced during the campaigns in the fall of 2006, and the conversations have not slowed down since the election in November.

The topics that seem to have the staying power for a 40-day discussion are listed below.

• Formula dollars – South Dakota schools are hoping to see more money in the formula. Both political parties have openly expressed an interest in sending more money to our schools, the questions will be: How much and how will it be packaged?

• Teacher pay – Virtually every state in the union is discussing how teacher pay can be reformed. South Dakota is no different. The Governor has proposed $4 million for a Teacher Compensation Assistance Program. Another proposed bill includes an option for performance pay.

• Education Service Agencies – The federal funds that have been used to support South Dakota’s ESAs have to be returned to their original purpose.  Therefore, general fund dollars must be used to replace those federal funds. A bill to appropriate money for the ESAs is making its way through the legislature. Many legislators seem eager to maintain the ESA program.

• State Aid Study topics – A variety of topics relating to the State Aid Study Task Force are a part of the discussion. Those topics include: sparsity, minimum school size, increasing/decreasing enrollment, other revenue, and facility assistance for low land value districts.

• Technical institute governance – Several bills have been introduced to assist with funding of the technical institutes, along with competing bills on the governance of our four technical institutes.