The solution to the South Dakota teacher shortage, teacher pay problem is to bring back the words income tax to our political discussion.

The Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on teacher pay and teacher shortage, needs to discuss, not cuss, the pragmatic and wise decision of adopting a corporate/business income tax.

I know, using income and tax together inside the border of our state is tantamount to treason. However, the lip service we have given teacher pay in our state for over 40 years has to end.

An increase in the sales tax may fix the teacher pay problem temporarily, but it is likely to create other problems for the masses of our fellow citizens having trouble staying afloat.

For the record, I am NOT anti-business, and I don’t think profit is a dirty word.  I understand the need for business to earn enough to pay bills, update facilities and technologies, hire and train workers, expand when needed, and pay the owners and/or stockholders a reasonable return on the risk of their investment.

A business income tax does not have to be punitive or confiscatory. It can be written  to yield enough to answer the need for more investment in education and not cause a flight of future investment to other states.

We are last in teacher pay, and being last has caused some current teachers to leave for greener pastures. Fewer young people are seeking education degrees both here and nationally. In our state the problem is money.

Why would a bright young mind graduate with a teaching degree and work here when they can travel fifteen miles into Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, or North Dakota and make much more money? In North Dakota the difference is about $8,000. In Wyoming it is $14,000.

Even an average student can figure out that to pay off student debt and earn enough to not need subsidies from mom and dad, or the government, requires a move out of state.

Nationally, the issue boils down to the lack of respect and sometimes abuse teachers suffer from politicians, school administrators, parents, the general public, and even students.

The profession at one time was considered one of the highest callings, right up there with being a minister. Today much of the public think teachers are in the profession because they can’t succeed at anything else. A sad state of affairs.

No back to South Dakota and the I word.

The Blue Ribbon Task Force is now looking for financial solutions to our problem. According to people attending the meetings, an increase in the state sales tax is gaining favor.

Our state has used the sales tax as our go to revenue source, both short and long term. Most everybody admits it is regressive and negatively impacts people struggling to make ends meet, including teachers.

We have a workforce problem in our state. The business community is very concerned about the lack of qualified employees to fill today’s jobs. Their concern amplifies as they look to the future. They see the problem getting worse, as do the rest of us in the state.

South Dakota is known for being business friendly. Skeptics here say those words translate to “low taxes and low wages.” While a simplification, there is some accuracy to those words.

I think it is time for the business community to invest in the future of their companies, by investing directly in education. Grants, gifts, and donations are nice but they don’t deal with the larger issue. The larger issue is educating students so they can meet the needs of business. That takes motivated, intelligent, respected and adequately paid teachers.

South Dakota is a low tax, low service state. That attitude gains us points in some groups. We lose points, people, and potential with many of our own citizens as a result.

It’s time for us to quit accepting good enough. We need to invest in EXCELLENCE.  That starts in the classroom. Our students and their teachers deserve the best.

Anything less, continues our pathetic and embarrassing status as last and lowest.

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