Teachers should be paid more as incentive to work in S.D.

Students at the University of South Dakota striving to become part of the education system have a big decision to make upon graduation — where to work.

Although there are many scholarships and stipends offered to students to stay and work in South Dakota, it’s concerning some will not stay in-state because South Dakota has the lowest teaching salary in the U.S.

According to the National Education Association, teachers in South Dakota made an average salary of $39,018 in 2014. Just below Mississippi, South Dakota has the lowest salary for its teachers.

This poses two main concerns: the lack of teachers in our education system and the quality of teaching.

USD is one of the leading education institutions in the state, and there are a variety of degrees offered for teaching opportunities in South Dakota. However, with the state’s low average salary, students are likely to teach somewhere else. In the surrounding states, Minnesota’s average salary is $56,268, North Dakota’s is $47,344, and Iowa’s average salary for teachers is $50,946.

Money isn’t always everything, and South Dakota’s cost of living isn’t nearly as high as other places in the country, but they are huge factors for students who are coming out of college with debt to consider.

Another repercussion of having such a low starting salary is the quality of our teachers in the state. Teaching positions in South Dakota are not nearly as competitive as they could be, since school districts can’t be too particular about their possible employee candidates when they are dealing with limited salary funds.

Part of an education degree requires students to student teach for a certain amount of time. While most are likely to teach in South Dakota, students may choose to go elsewhere after graduation due to salary constraints or what they may have encountered during their student teaching.

Both of these concerns have a ripple effect in South Dakota, if they haven’t already. One dire reality is the future of federal funding to the state’s education systems. Generally speaking, if South Dakota does not produce the desired results as outlined by the federal government, we are at risk for receiving less federal funding.

In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act was signed by George W. Bush. This act was designed to hold every state’s education systems, thus including teachers, accountable for the quality of education being provided to our nation’s students. It was meant to give each individual student an equal opportunity to remain on the same education level as their peers, but looking back on legislation passed more than a decade ago, it has also impacted teaching professionals.

All of these factors must be taken into account as USD students choose where to go for their teaching profession. As a state, South Dakota should be more attuned to national teaching salary averages to obtain and keep quality teachers. This is a problem that has been put on the back burner for far too long.