February 20, 2012
HB 1234: My least favorite bill this legislative session
Previously I posted that Feeding SD/HB1206 was my favorite bill this legislative session. Hands down HB1234, the education reform bill, is my least favorite. After much feedback and educator input it is substantially different from it's original version and I voted for it last week only because the conversation needs to continue on the Senate side. We are assured additional changes will be made which means we'll see it again in the House. Frankly, if the bill died in the Senate that would be fine with me.
From my vantage point the Governor enjoys a high approval rating statewide except in education circles. It is true we are getting no calls/emails expressing support for HB1234 but it's also the case we are only hearing from educators. There wasn't a Cracker Barrel meeting in Sioux Falls this past weekend or I'd have made some of the following comments there. Two weeks ago the Argus Leader wrote "Rep. Steve Hickey… made himself the target of boos when he said education in South Dakota is not a partisan issue, but if it does divide along party lines, 'Democrats focus on teachers and salaries. Republicans focus on students and achievement.'"
Target of Boos. I'll add that to the short list of possible titles for my late in life autobiography. Seriously, after the booing I made the point that me insinuating they don't care about students is just as unfair and offensive as them insinuating we don't care about teachers or education. My point was that, like agriculture, education is a non-partisan issue in our state. We all care about kids.
Historically in our state more money doesn't translate into higher teacher pay as administrators only hire more teachers. The governor is trying to get money directly to teachers, not all teachers, but some. We all know teacher pay statewide is low but this is not a problem unique to education. Police officer pay is low, so is clergy pay. Yet in Sioux Falls, average teacher pay is 26th in our nation - $43,698 - between Florida and Virginia. The Superintendent makes $181,000 plus benefits, Todd Vik makes $138,000 plus benefits, and there are 23 other school administrators who make over six digits a year. Good for them! I wish this were true in all corners of our state. Only Douglas, Shannon County, Rapid City Watertown and Yankton are higher.
My point is… mean letters from Sioux Falls educators about low pay - and being 51st in the nation- telling me I know nothing about education — none of it sways me. Like the homophobe who always mentions he has a gay relative, me mentioning my wife has taught for years has helped a few young teachers cool off and appreciate that I can appreciate their plight.
Also, I reject the notion that nothing is measurable— education is inherently measurable, teachers are always giving grades. If something involves money, particularly other people's money (i.e. tax payer dollars), it better be measurable. More money historically doesn't translate to higher student achievement and this is the crux of the entire conversation. Our goal is not to pay salaries and keep school buildings heated and open. Our goal is to use limited taxpayer dollars toward student achievement. Teacher pay has gone through several upgrades since the days of the one room school house. We are presently in another such era of reform.
Even so, if I had to vote today on the bill in it's final form I'd vote no. Why? Because this conversation can't happen in 33 days and the education community needs to be in the mix at the onset (in the same way the medicaid providers were in the middle of the Medicaid Task Force last year). The Governor is spot on when it comes to the priority of education reform and his plans are bold, innovative and very much pointed in the right direction. He enjoys a high approval rating for his leadership last year and this year. However, leadership is at it's best when the people we lead take ownership in where we are going and even believe where we are going was their idea all along. That's brilliant leadership - it is the art of good leadership put forth your agenda in such a way that the people we lead think it is their own. I see no way to fix HB1234 in the next two weeks so that happens with the education community. The Gang of Six needs to be commended for being on the front line and working overtime to make this work for everyone.
Who are the reformers in South Dakota education? I don't want to hear from the maintainers anymore telling us more money will fix everything. If we gave more money it wouldn't be enough. I want to hear from the reformers in education.
Comments on HB 1234: My least favorite bill this legislative session »
caheidelberger @ 1:13 pm
hearing only from educators?
(1) I doubt that. I'm sure you're hearing from a lot of educators, and there are a lot of educators signing my petition against HB 1234 and in favor a task force (that sounds like what you're saying we need! Come sign up!). But it's not all educators, is it?
(2) Even if you are hearing from a lot of educators, isn't winning in a democracy about showing up? You can't just imagine voices you aren't hearing.
(3) Aren't the educators the best experts you could ask for on HB 1234? If the state were going to regulate pastors (heavens forfend!), wouldn't you want to hear from the pastors first about the impacts of those regulations on their job?
Thanks for being straight with us, Rep. Hickey. But I beg to differ with the idea that we vote for legislation just to sustain a conversation. When a bill reaches your desk, it needs to be good enough to become law right then and there. If it's not, the sponsors and committees haven't done their homework, and you have a right if not an obligation to say, "No way."
Votes can't predict the future. You can't know that the Senate will amend and kick it back to you for conference and re-vote. The governor could come down the hall, kick the Senate Majority Leader around, and get that bill passed as is. Don't gamble with the vote the people have given you. Vote for good policies. Vote against bad policies.
Oh, and HB 1234 was not substantially changed from Governor Daugaard's original proposal. It kept all three of Governor's main planks (all bad planks): competitive merit bonuses, math/sci bonuses, and end of continuing contract. The change we need is rejection of all three of those proposals and amendment to policies actually proven to improve teacher and student performance.
Steve Sibson @ 2:23 pm
"It is true we are getting no calls/emails expressing support for HB1234 but it's also the case we are only hearing from educators.'
Did not know I was an "educator". I thought I was one of the reformers, and I oppose HB1234 because it is just more of the same high-maintenance standard-based disfunction that has created a 65% increase in administration while student numbers are down 28.5%. Putting focus on the teachers was a mistake in leadership.
Opposition to Merit Pay, Tenure Elimination Proposal Finds Cohesion « sdlegislativelog @ 2:51 pm
[…] 1234 has been approved by members of the House, in a 48-21 vote. Even so, some of those who cast a "yes" vote say they only did so to "further the […]
Sam Peil @ 4:14 pm
Rep. Hickey,
Thank you for the time and work you have done for South Dakota from your legislative office. I am both a parent to SD students and an educator. I am curious about how many mean letters regarding HB1234 you have received. Did any of the letters offer reform ideas? Do you believe that all people who oppose this bill are maintainers? I do hope that educators, parents, and other stakeholders will be welcomed into the conversation and decision making regarding education reform via a task force (as noted above by caheidelberger) and that HB1234 does not pass.
The focus of the conversation is not on the learning of our students. As many have pointed out, the plan lacks supporting evidence (something people expect). How does removing continuing contract status and due process translate into higher student performance and improved learning? Where is the evidence, and will you please invite more stakeholders to the conversation?
Steve Hickey @ 4:52 pm
Sam - I get several emails a day that I'd consider angry and or accusatory. No generally they don't offer reform ideas. My favorites are the ones from state education email addresses that are riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. And also I get lots of letters like yours which are very helpful and appreciated. I should refrain from labeling people - maintainers, etc - as I know that isn't helpful either. No, I don't view everyone who opposed this bill to be a maintainer. Generally the correspondence that comes my way is from people who just want more money and they think the system is fine as is and so the impression I get is they want to maintain the same course. And lots of stakeholders have been in Pierre for weeks making their case before committees and legislators.
Cory - all the time we vote on things while holding our nose or trusting the assurances we get that it'll get fixed in the Senate or visa versa. You wouldn't have wanted this approved in two weeks and those who are putting it forth don't deserve to have it die in two weeks. These are big ticket items that deserve the entirety of our legislative session. It's one of the great things about the process - this whole thing is a process. That's why I fight the scorecard people who are making judgments on our view on bills by procedural and preliminary votes. We vote to send bills over to the Senate that are nothing but shells that will later become vehicles for the long negotiated large issue matters. True there are things to kill the first time you see them but I'm pretty sure the ed community doesn't want this 15 million that is floating around right now to disappear.
cefil @ 5:00 pm
Thanks for your thoughtfulness on this one, Rep. Hickey. HB1234 is a bad bill, and needs to be killed.
There are many ways we can improve education in SD, and they don't have to automatically start with more money. Schools can and should be much smarter with the vast quantities of dollars they're already spending. The state can and should start by lowering the burden of state regulations, not increasing them ala SB25. (Having the courage to say "no" to Federal demands would be efficacious, as well.)
Education reform in SD cannot be left to the education establishment…it must include people with common sense and a commitment to a *complete* education for our kids, not a jump-on-the-latest-fad impulse to worship at the STEM altar.
I know the Gang of Six is working to compromise on HB1234, but what I'm hearing isn't nearly good enough. Let's scrap it and start over, coming back next year with a proposal that ensures a first-rate, well rounded education for all SD kids without needlessly throwing more good money after the bad.
Steve Sibson @ 8:51 am
"It's one of the great things about the process - this whole thing is a process. That's why I fight the scorecard people who are making judgments on our view on bills by procedural and preliminary votes."
I have been walking the halls of the Capitol for a number of years, and it has been the House Chamber that has put a stop to bad bills passed by the Senate. Sending bad bills over to the Senate is a recipe for disaster. I will be recommending that those who voted "No" on HB1234 and HB1195 get double points on the next scorecard.
And "the process" is an application of Hegelian dialectic. Very dangerous.
Lee Schoenbeck @ 9:13 am
very well said Rep Hickey, very well said
Sam Peil @ 5:22 pm
Rep. Hickey,
Thank you for your reply. It is unfortunate that people feel the need to write angry e-mails with no helpful ideas. It is certainly difficult to have a conversation that starts out that way. That said, I understand why educators are angry. We are asking questions that remain unanswered. Where is the evidence that suggests the proposed plan will raise student achievement? This question is asked over and over but seems to be ignored. I have spent hours engaging in this discussion with fellow parents, educators, and taxpayers since Governor Daugaard's SOS. It always circles back to that question of how the plan will help our learners. I do hope that HB 1234 is killed so that the work can continue with a task force beyond the legislative session as over 1,600 people are calling for via the online petition created by Mr. Heidelberger: http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-house-bill-1234-and-convene-a-k-12-task-force
Thank you again.
Aaron Johnson @ 5:28 pm
I find it interesting (or bothersome and even troublesome) that you voted yes for a bill that you hope will fail in the Senate. At this moment you say you would vote "no" HB1234 but you still voted "yes" when you had the chance to stop it.
P.S. I am not an educator. I am a farmer.
Emma Reeder @ 5:59 pm
If the goal is enhanced student achievement (as it should be), and if the current achievement shortfalls cover all areas of the curriculum (as they do), then why not invest precious state dollars into something that will benefit the entire range of educational accomplishment in our K-12 system?
"How do we do that?" I hear you asking. Well, I’ve got one word for you: libraries.
South Dakota's school libraries have been neglected and abused by the education establishment for many years. A few extra dollars sent their way would help bring them into the current century. And a modern school library can be a great tool for improving student achievement.
A friend just sent me a recent comprehensive report of current research done in the field of student achievement. The report shows that the research has demonstrated one incontrovertible fact: “Effective school library programs can serve as consistent drivers for student achievement in times of constant change and churning educational reform.”
Quality school libraries will bolster all areas of the curriculum, from the currently-popular math and science to the also-important history and social sciences and, of course, the vital reading and writing. (As you pointed out in an earlier response, Rep. Hickey, too many of our K-12 graduates can’t even craft a simple letter without multiple errors in spelling and grammar.)
Based on the conclusions from the research cited in the report, it is clear that quality school libraries play an important role in student achievement, curriculum development, and instruction. If we really have $15 million burning a hole in our state pocket, why not invest it where it will have a positive impact for all education; why not put it into our libraries?
malea @ 11:31 am
Hi, Rep. Hickey, I'm not against what you're saying here so don't want to seem I am. The 1 issue that concerns me is teacher pay–you ranked a city (SF) 2 states. It might be true but I couldn't find a job in town so all the rural areas by my home were way lower. We learned in my classes that we are 50th (or close to it b/c we know it changes) and since it's a state bill and not just for the city that part is still a problem. I know I'll probably cross the border. The pay differences are so big that being single, I can't live on what a junior high teacher makes in our state.