Guest Post: Enhance Student Learning by Creating a Healthier School Environment
Posted Thursday, March 28, 2013
By Kari Senger, South Dakota Healthy Schools Program Manager
The research is clear: healthy, properly nourished and fit students are better able to concentrate on their work, attend school on a regular basis and perform well in class and on tests.
Founded in 2005, by the Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s mission is to inspire young people to develop lifelong, healthy habits.
The Alliance started the Healthy Schools Program, which now supports more than 14,000 schools across the U.S. in their efforts to create environments where physical activity and healthy eating are accessible and encouraged.
Creating a healthier school environment, by improving nutrition and increasing physical activity, can directly impact staff productivity and student learning.
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation is offering a limited number of schools in South Dakota the opportunity to receive customized technical assistance at no cost.
Schools are provided a framework of best practices to guide them through a process of assessing their school, developing action steps and accessing a database of school health grants and resources related to seven wellness categories.
The best part is, that the school decides what types of small steps they would like to implement and the Alliance customizes our assistance based on their needs.
This is not just another program.
The Alliance assists schools in meeting existing requirements, such as USDA wellness policy requirements. A fact sheet explains how the Alliance can support schools with wellness policy revision and implementation.
Schools are powerful places to shape the health, education and well-being of our children. Consider this limited opportunity for your school!
For more information, contact Kari at kari.senger@healthiergeneration.org or 605-280-7671.
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No issue with line-item veto
Posted Monday, March 25, 2013
Legislators returned to the Capitol this morning to wrap up the 2013 legislative session by taking a look at three vetoes by Gov. Dennis Daugaard.
The only veto related to K-12 education was the governor’s decision to line-item veto a portion of House Bill 1137, which provides $5.8 million in one-time funds for schools, is not expected to affect the funds provided for schools. ASBSD supported the bill.
Gov. Daugaard changed the appropriation of one-time dollars based on a district’s student enrollment for fiscal year 2013 instead of FY12. Gov. Daugaard noted the FY13 enrollment, which would use fall 2012 figures, would be a more accurate for the one-time appropriation.
Representatives voted 65-1 to accept the governor’s change.
For a wrap on legislative session download ASBSD’s legislative summary and review the webinar recap.
Bookmark the ASBSD blog, as we update it throughout the year with the latest news and opinions on K-12 education in South Dakota.
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Legislative Webinar Recap
Posted Friday, March 22, 2013
ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany connected with board members and administrators from across the state for three days this week to recap the 2013 legislative session.
The three webinar dates featured Pogany answering questions from participants and sharing his observations on the legislature, K-12 funding and the bills that survived session.
Click to download the summary.
Here’s a rundown of what was discussed during the webinar:
Legislature Observations
In his second year lobbying for ASBSD, Pogany praised the high-level of cooperation between both houses and the bipartisan collaboration – specifically on Senate Bill 235, read on for more information – uncommon to previous years. He also noted the interaction between legislators and lobbyists.
“Education lobbyists were called in quite often by legislators for consultation,” Pogany said.
Pogany also said while the nation’s focus was on the potential effects of sequestration, South Dakota legislators didn’t share the same level of concern.
Funding
Schools will receive a three percent increase for the first time in four years. House Bill 1185 provides the per-student allocation increase, which was increased by $135 setting the PSA at $4,626.
|
PSA PAST FIVE YEARS (APPROXIMATE)
|
|
YEAR
|
BASE PSA
|
CHANGE
|
|
2009-10
|
$4,805
|
$163
(3.5%)
|
|
2010-11
|
$4,805
|
$0
(0%)
|
|
2011-12
|
$4,390
|
-$415
(-8.6%)
|
|
2012-13
|
$4,491
|
+$101
(+2.3%)
|
|
2013-14
|
$4,626
|
+$135
(+3%)
|
Pogany said a potential future funding focus could be on getting schools back to the PSA’s high point.
“If at all possible, I’d love for us all to get back to $4,805,” Pogany said in reference to the state’s PSA level of fiscal year 2011 prior to the massive 8.6 percent cut schools took in FY12.
For more on what a return to $4,805 would take, check out yesterday’s blog post.
While acknowledging K-12 education remains underfunded, Pogany said the three percent increase and a growing interest among legislators to help schools signals a positive start to fixing funding.
“I really think we have some momentum around funding,” Pogany said. “The message is out there that clearly we’re still in crisis. I don’t think legislators came away with the notion that they solved the school’s funding problem.”
“We need to give some positive kudos to our legislators. We need to keep asking them to help us.”
Bills
House Bill 1137: Pogany said Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s line item veto on the bill providing $5.8 million in one-time dollars to schools is not expected to affect that money. Read more about the veto here.
The unrestricted, one-time funds will be distributed to schools for FY13 based on the enrollment figures from fall 2012 – based on the governor’s veto.
Senate Bill 235: “Never before have we had a placeholder for money to go into for education,” Pogany said of the economic development bill that establishes the Building South Dakota fund, which in turn supplies the Education Workforce fund.
The bipartisan bill uses 30 percent of the dollars raised for the Building South Dakota fund for the Education Workforce fund, which provides a 25 percent increase in state funding for ESL students, potential one-time dollars for districts and funds for CTE programs.
“Twenty-five percent of the per-student allocation comes out to a little over $1,100 per student in extra money for ESL students,” Pogany said.
Senate Bill 194: Pogany said the sunset date extension on the capital outlay flexibility provision could be the last provided by the legislature. Read more about the extension here.
“We have to do everything we can to wean ourselves off of the dependence on capital outlay,” he said.
Senate Bills 15 & 28: On SB 15, which increased the special education tax levies and set a ratio of 61-to-39 local-to-state percentage funding effort, Pogany said the bill “locks us in to a ratio we can work with going forward.”
On SB 28, which adjusted the property tax levies for a district’s general fund, Pogany said legislators took a long look at the agricultural levy and the potential low level it could reach.
“There might be some conversation around that,” Pogany said.
House Bills 1164 & 1185: The prior provides $500,000 in innovative grants for teachers, schools and ESAs and the latter appropriates $500,000 for a technology upgrade grant program.
Pogany said the requirements to receive grant dollars have not been posted, but ASBSD will post an update on the blog when available.
House Bill 1087: Pogany said the decision on a sentinel program is “up to the school boards” and based on the way the law is written a decision not to implement cannot be referred by area voters.
He also said ASBSD, SASD, Department of Education and the South Dakota Department of Homeland Security are studying school safety and the best practices to ensure and enhance it.
We encourage you to bookmark our blog for the latest news on K-12 education and ASBSD.
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Gov. signs two bills
Posted Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Governor signs cap. outlay extension
Last week, Gov. Dennis Dauggaard signed Senate Bill 194, which extends the provision allowing school districts to use capital outlay funds for certain insurance, energy, utilities and motor fuel costs to 2018, into law.
The provision, which was introduced in 2009, was set to expire in 2014.
The number of school districts utilizing capital outlay flexibility increased each year since 2009, which in turn caused the total dollar amount to grow as well.
The total dollars used as part of the flexibility provision nearly doubled from FY10 to FY11 and again in FY11 to FY12, which could be attributed the freeze in state aid in FY11 and the 8.6 percent cut to it in FY12.
ASBSD supported the bill.
Treatment center funding bill signed
Gov. Daugaard also signed Senate Bill 158, which would provide state funding for students in treatment centers and clarifies the discrepancy among the home district and the district in which the treatment center is located.
About 30 students per-year fall in this category and the total cost is approximately $139,000, said Rep. Peggy Gibson (22) in support of the bill on the House floor. The governor included funding for similar situations in his budget proposal.
ASBSD supported the bill.
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Legislative Summary and Webinar
Posted Thursday, March 14, 2013
As the 88th legislative session came to a close last Friday, ASBSD posted a preliminary look at the funding provided for K-12 education and a summary of the bills that would have an effect on schools.
Now, we bring you our final look at session with the ASBSD 2013 Legislative Summary (PDF version for easy download).
Download the document, give it a read and join us next week for our Legislative Recap webinar.
(Click on the graphic for registration details).
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ASBSD blog post word cloud
Posted Monday, March 11, 2013
Here's a look at the words that most commonly appeared in blog posts covering the 2013 legislative session.
(Click to enlarge.)
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Weekend reading
Posted Saturday, March 9, 2013
If you're in need of something to read this weekend ASBSD's monthly online publication, the Bulletin, is available.
Follow the link above or select a specific section below.
2013 Legislative Summary
A final look at the 88th legislative session.
Two sessions and two times scheduled for Fiscal Responsibility webinar.
April's three-day conference to take place in San Diego.
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ASBSD Weekly Legislative Roundup
Posted Friday, January 25, 2013
“Sentinel” bill passes committee
Following almost three hours of testimony and discussion spread across two days, the House Education committee passed an amended version of House Bill 1087 by an 8-7 vote this morning. The bill moves to the House floor for hearing next week.
The bill would allow school boards to “create, establish and supervise” a “sentinel” program that would arm staff, security or volunteers on school grounds.
“We’re disappointed the committee passed the bill,” Executive Wade Pogany said. ASBSD opposes the bill based on the standing position for "Safe and Secure Schools" which supports keeping “weapons” away from school grounds.
Part of the amendment requires school boards receive the approval of the county sheriff with jurisdiction over the district before implementing the "sentinel" program. The new requirement would shift the local control element proponents of the bill argued school boards had in deciding on the program to the discretion of the county sheriff.
Additionally, the amendment calls for non-law enforcement individuals filling the "sentinel" role to receive only 40-hours of firearms training from law enforcement before carrying the weapon.
The amendment also requires school boards only discuss the “sentinel” program in executive session.
“While we appreciate the attempt to address concerns with the amendment, it simply does not change the fact that this is bad policy,” Pogany said. “We maintain that more firearms in schools make them unsafe.”
“Quotes” of Note
(Quotes span the two-day hearing in House Education on HB 1087.)
“A school filled with young people is an unforgiving environment, where a miss will prove harmful or even deadlier to innocence. You cannot miss.” – Lead-Deadwood School Board member and military veteran Orson Ward.
“After the horrible shooting in Connecticut, I thought, ‘it’s time to do something.’” – Rep. Betty Olson (28B).
“Schools are still safe environments. We plan, we prepare, we practice.” – SASD Executive Director Rob Munson.
“When push comes to shove, the only way, in reality, to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” – Rep. Dan Kaiser (3).
“Is it acceptable to let teachers and administrators to carry firearms in a school with children? This is not a debate about local control. Arming teachers and arming administrators is so grave it needs to be decided (in the legislature).” – Executive Director Wade Pogany.
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ASBSD Legislative Day
Posted Friday, January 25, 2013
For the third straight year, ASBSD invites school board members, superintendents and business managers from member districts to Legislative Day on Tuesday, February 19.
ASBSD Legislative Day is a day of advocacy and action in support of public education. School board members and administrators are invited to Pierre to learn about the latest status of bills impacting K-12 schools and then we march to the Capitol to meet with legislators and make our voice heard.
Legislative Day also provides the opportunity to recognize the year’s Outstanding School Board Member Mike Denker of Wagner and the School Board Award of Excellence recipient, the Wall School Board.
Attending the ASBSD Legislative Day Luncheon and Lobbying at the Capitol earns an individual 5 Better Boardsmanship Credits toward the ASBSD Award of Merit.
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Important bills face committee hearings
Posted Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Over the next two days, five legislative committees are expected to take up some key bills and issues.
This morning Senate Education will hold a hearing on Senate Bill 76, which would reinstate $500,000 in state funding for Educational Service Agencies. Executive Director Wade Pogany is expected to testify at the hearing in favor of the funding return based on ASBSD’s resolution C3, which calls for support of a “full funding” return to ESAs.
Also today, the Department of Education is scheduled to have its budget hearing with the Joint Appropriations committee. ASBSD will monitor the hearing closely.
Tomorrow’s committee schedule is highlighted by House Bill 1087’s – the bill proposing armed guards be allowed in schools beyond just law enforcement agents - hearing in the House Education committee. ASBSD’s is opposed to the bill based on the association’s Standing Position on Safe and Secure Schools supports keeping “weapons” away from school grounds. Pogany is expected to testify.
The House State Affairs committee will hold a hearing on House Bill 1108, which subjects committees and advisory committees appointed by a school board to open meetings laws. ASBSD opposes this bill and is expected to testify at the hearing.
Rounding out the committee schedule is Senate Transportation’s hearing on Senate Bill 41. The bill would allow a school district to use an approved inspector to inspect their buses in place of the state highway patrol. ASBSD will be monitoring this bill.
For updates on these bills and committee hearings, as well as other legislation, check the ASBSD blog and bill tracker often.
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A bill summary from the past week
Posted Monday, January 21, 2013
The spotlight was placed firmly on House Bill 1087, which would allow school boards to arm school employees, when it was introduced last week during legislative session.
HB 1087, which ASBSD opposes, will no doubt garner much of the attention this week, but in addition to it there were 11 more bills were introduced last week that ASBSD will be tracking. Here’s a recap of those bills:
Senate Bill 78: Revises provisions of medical requirements for bus drivers transporting passengers exempting them from the physical requirements unless required by their district. ASBSD is monitoring the bill.
Senate Bill 79: Transfers funds from the Game, Fish and Parks fund to the permanent school fund for each acre of school land shown as public hunting land in a GFP published hunting atlas, map or other publication. ASBSD is monitoring the bill.
Senate Bill 80: Repeals legislation requiring impact aid be accounted in the school's general fund and allows the impact aid be accounted for in a separate fund. ASBSD is monitoring the bill.
Senate Bill 91: Reduces contractor's excise tax over a three year period before its full repeal in2016. ASBSD is monitoring the bill and the affect it could have on funding for K-12 education.
Senate Bill 96: Allows school districts with fewer than 100 K-12 students to remain open and autonomous, if it is exercising joint powers or intergovernmental cooperation in education with another school district. ASBSD is in support of the bill.
Senate Bill 98: Revises immunization exemption requirements to encompass a student that has a “personal religious commitment” opposed to the immunization and planning to enter school or an early childhood education program. ASBSD will monitor the bill.
Senate Bill 99: Changes the term "opt out" to "instructional support levy” when school districts publish announcement of reference the additional property tax levy. ASBSD is in support of the bill.
House Bill 1064: Allows school districts to implement flexible spending accounts as part of health insurance plans, which includes the use of debit cards or direct deposits among other methods. Executive Director Wade Pogany testified in support of the bill, which passed through the House Education committee. ASBSD is in support of the bill.
House Bill 1108: Subjects committees appointed by a school board to open meetings laws. ASBSD opposes this bill.
House Bill 1113: Requires any digital communication (email, text message, etc.) involving a quorum of board members be subject to open meetings laws. ASBSD is monitoring this bill.
House Bill 1114: Requires any defamatory information about an individual, who is employed, seeking employment, etc., with a public body be confirmed before it can be publicized. ASBSD is monitoring this bill.
For updates on these bills and other legislation check the ASBSD blog and bill tracker often.
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ASBSD Legislative Roundup
Posted Friday, January 18, 2013
“Sentinel” program bill focus of week
The second week of legislative session started out slow, but finished in a flurry punctuated by the introduction of House Bill 1087, which would giveschool boards "sole discretion" to create a “sentinel” program arming school officials in an attempt to increase school safety.
ASBSD opposes the bill. The association’s Standing Position on Safe and Secure Schools supports keeping “weapons” away from school grounds. In addition, we believe more firearms carried on school premises pose an increased risk to student safety.
“The proliferation of firearms in schools will cause a greater risk of safety to children than the threat it is intended to deter,” Executive Director Wade Pogany said. “Schools have safety and emergency policies in place that are effective in creating a safe environment.”
HB 1087 was assigned to the House Education Committee and is scheduled for hearing on Wednesday, January 23 at 7:45 a.m. Pogany will testify against the bill at the meeting.
Bookmark the ASBSD blog for updates on HB 1087 and other legislation and check bill tracker for ASBSD’s position on a bill.
“Quotes” of note
(This week’s edition comes from a previous post from the Senate Education committee)
Senator Deb Soholt (14) said the current funding formula feels “like it’s in its own universe in relationship to where we really need to go with accountability.”
“Away from funding, how can we help districts meet the challenges for the mass customized learning approach we’re taking today,” Senator, and Committee Chair, J. Mark Johnston (12) said.
“I’m coming around to the issue of funding,” Senator Bruce Rampelberg (30) said. “When you start to pare off of who gets what, it sure seems to me that we really need to, as a state… increase the funding level that we have available to do these (DOE education outcomes) many things that you (Secretary Melody Schoop) are identifying.”
The week in posts
Are guns the answer to protect schools?
Bill calls for ESA funding return
LAN's role in lobbying
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LAN's role in lobbying
Posted Wednesday, January 16, 2013
ASBSD’s Legislative Action Network plays the role of grassroots lobbyist in the big picture of K-12 education advocacy.
Each ASBSD member district is asked to appoint one or more school board members as a LAN contact to lead their local school board in advocating for K-12 education. LAN members are tasked with keeping their fellow board members informed of legislative activity and prepared to advocate, if necessary.
To stay up-to-date on legislative issues, LAN members can access the Open Forum Blog for the latest legislative updates and the Bill Tracker program for insight and position of bills ASBSD is closely monitoring. ASBSD will also issue action alerts to LAN members when bills require immediate action.
LAN members along with ASBSD, which focuses lobbying efforts at the Capitol during session, make for an eclectic advocacy group with over 190 advocates focusing on the 35 legislative districts.
“ASBSD and LAN are partners in advocacy,” Executive Director Wade Pogany said. “With our lobbying efforts at the Capitol and LAN members’ grassroots efforts, we make a very effective team on education issues.”
Pogany urged board members to contact their legislators and regularly communicate with them to forge a strong relationship that could benefit the future of K-12 education.
“Board members need to regularly communicate with their area legislators in order to provide input on education policy and how potential legislation could affect their district,” Pogany said. “It’s time for school boards to take the lead on education policy.”
If your board has not designated a LAN representative, please contact Director of Communications Tyler Pickner at 605-773-8382, 605-881-3791 or at tpickner@asbsd.org with the name and email address of your representative(s).
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Back to it
Posted Tuesday, January 15, 2013
South Dakota’s 88th legislative session kicks off its second week this morning. The second meeting of the Senate Education Committee meeting leads off the day with Secretary of Education Melody Schopp will be presenting the DOE’s educational outcomes plan for the coming years.
Last week saw 133 bills filed, but a mere six listed under education according to the South Dakota Legislative Research Council website. ASBSD is continuing to monitor all bills with the potential to affect K-12 education.
One of those bills is Senate Bill 15, which proposes an increase to the special education tax levy imposed by districts, but caps the extraordinary cost fund provided by the state at $4 million and does not provide an increase in funding for each disability category. Read more about it here.
Check the blog daily for updates from legislative session.
School Board Recognition Week
This week marks South Dakota's School Board Recognition Week.
School Board Recognition Week is your district’s opportunity to publicly thank the men and women who serve on your local board of education. We hope it will be a time your students, staff and community share their appreciation for the leadership provided by school board members.
ASBSD has assembled a toolkit with multiple pieces that can help your district celebrate your board.
As part of the week’s festivities, Executive Director Wade Pogany and Leadership Development Director Julie Ertz will present the Wall School Board with a plaque and cash award on Saturday, January 19 for being chosen the 2013 ASBSD School Board Award of Excellence winner.
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ASBSD Legislative Roundup
Posted Friday, January 11, 2013
The first week of the 2013 legislative session is complete and a total of 133 bills have been introduced, but, so far, legislation related to K-12 education has been minimal. As we know, however, that will change.
One piece of legislation already introduced that ASBSD is closely monitoring is Senate Bill 15. The bill proposes an increase to the special education tax levy imposed by districts, but caps the extraordinary cost fund provided by the state at $4 million and does not provide an increase in funding for each disability category.
The result of these changes could be an increase in the amount of local effort provided for special education funding. ASBSD will continue to monitor the bill and provide updates on it, as well as other important pieces of legislation as they are introduced.
Note: ASBSD’s Bill Tracker will be populated with bills being monitored by ASBSD and will be fully functional on Monday. If you have questions, please contact Tyler Pickner at tpickner@asbsd.orgor at 605-881-3791.
“Quotes” of Note:
Statements made from the week’s testimony, speeches, social media updates and more.
“As other states are looking to cut, we can look where to spend these dollars.” – Gov. Dennis Daugaard said during his State of the State address.
“There’s still concern out there that we need to secure a long-term funding source for education.” – Senator Billie Sutton of District 21 said in an interview with SDPB following the State of the State address.
“Whether there’s enough to pass anything (ongoing funding for schools), I don’t know, but I think there will be some interest in trying to put it in ongoing — a small amount.” – Rep. Dan Dryden said in an Argus Leader story posted Friday.
“Students that don’t take senior math show up to our door rusty.” – BOR Executive Director Jack R. Warner said during his presentation in front of the House Education Committee on Friday.
“We want all of our K-12 students to be ready for life.” – Secretary of Education Melody Schopp said while presenting at Wednesday’s House of Education Committee.
Past Week Posts:
Daugaard opens session with State of the State Address
Changes coming to open meeting laws?
Meet the House and Senate Education Committees
Alphabet Soup and ASBSD
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Alphabet soup and ASBSD
Posted Friday, January 11, 2013
How are those two things related?
They were the topics covered by ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany at this morning’s House Education Committee meeting.
Pogany was on hand to discuss ASBSD and its purpose and goals, but, before that, as Committee Chair Rep. Jacqueline Sly put it “to help us with the alphabet soup.”
“We want to be really sensitive to the fact that you’re (committee members) learning this new terminology and in many cases we are too,” Pogany said.
Pogany expounded on a few of the acronyms used in the education vernacular from the basics like DOE to the initiatives like CCS to the financially relevant like CPI, and, of course, ASBSD.
“I would ask you a favor, when you have issues related to education ask your local school board members,” Pogany requested of the committee during his presentation on ASBSD.
“I’ve always believed that elected officials talking to elected officials to try to solve problems, especially in the interest of children, is a very powerful tool.”
Pogany provided committee members with a handout highlighting ASBSD’s board development and services, policy services and advocating for K-12 education.
“We (ASBSD) stand up for education,” Pogany said. “That’s what we do.”
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Pogany to make first committee appearance
Posted Thursday, January 10, 2013
Likely the first of many, ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany will make an appearance at the House Education Committee meeting on Friday morning and discuss ASBSD with the committee of 15 representatives.
“It’s a great way to introduce our association to the committee and share with them our purpose in and mission for K-12 education,” Pogany said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity Representative Jacqueline Sly has offered.”
In addition, Pogany will share and explain a list of notable acronyms related to education. The list includes well known abbreviations such as NCLB and DOE and lesser known, but very important, ones like PSA (Per Student Allocation) and CPI (Consumer Price Index).
“There are many widely used acronyms in education that individuals immersed in the field rattle off in regular conversation,” Pogany said, “but we forget there’s jargon that others outside the profession may not be familiar with.”
“And that’s really my goal, is to help the committee members familiarize themselves with these lesser known, but very important terms.”
Pogany will present in front of the committee at 8:15 a.m. on Friday. The committee meeting is available to listen to live or can be downloaded following the meeting.
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Short shots - House Education
Posted Wednesday, January 25, 2012
In House Education this morning:
- Members of House Education narrowly passed HB 1005 this morning, sending the measure to the House for full consideration. The bill clarifies that a child is approved for alternative instruction as soon as the parent files application with the district.
- The committee took testimony, but delayed action, on HB 1145, a proposal by Rep. Betty Olson, R-Prairie City, to eliminate continuing contract and due process rights for teachers. ASBSD and SASD testified against the legislation, based on direction set by the respective organization's Delegate Assemblies.
For more on Today's action, check back with Open Forum.
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Pogany to lawmakers: Schools are still in a funding crisis
Posted Thursday, January 19, 2012
The state’s public schools are still reeling from recent
cuts to state aid to education and South Dakota school board members continue
to be concerned about being asked to do more with less, ASBSD Executive
Director Wade Pogany said Wednesday.
Pogany’s comments came during a briefing before the Senate
Education Committee. The 20-minute presentation provided a brief overview of
the association’s purpose, but focused largely on reinforcing the impact of
recent state aid cuts. Pogany also outlined ASBSD’s advocacy goals, which were
established in November by the ASBSD Delegate Assembly.
To detail the impact of last year’s $52 million cut to
public school funding, Pogany walked lawmakers through Costly Cuts: A Survey of South Dakota Schools. The report, released
by ASBSD last November, showed that schools slashed local budgets by more than
$38 million and eliminated more than 465 full time positions. Pogany also
stressed that local school boards aren’t done adjusting budgets to make up for
the loss in state aid.
“The uncertainty is not over,” Pogany said. “Please
understand: [schools] are still in a funding crisis.”
As school boards have reduced spending – cuts Pogany said
were “in many cases, pretty extreme” – they have had to rely more on reserves
and local property tax dollars to fund basic education programs. Having to use
temporary financial fixes to patch budgets, combined with the looming threat of
reductions in federal education spending, is troubling to schools that are “already
as lean as they can possibly be,” Pogany said.
“[Schools] are in an extremely deep hole,” Pogany told
legislators, adding that districts will be hard-pressed to fund existing reform
initiatives, including the conversion to new learning standards and a more
rigorous staff evaluation system. Pogany credited Gov. Daugaard for
recommending the legally required per-student student increase and for
committing funding to help implement the new Common Core Academic Standards and
Charlotte Danielson teaching framework.
“[School districts] can get the job done if they have the
resources to carry it out,” Pogany said, later adding that ASBSD will continue
to ask lawmakers to provide the regulatory flexibility necessary to implement
new state mandates at the local level.
During committee questions, Sen. Bruce Rampelberg, R-Rapid
City, questioned Pogany about the association’s position on the governor’s
Investing in Teachers Initiative, which he called a “challenge to districts.”
Pogany responded by saying the association needed time to go
through the complex proposal, which has yet to be filed in bill form, but that
ASBSD would evaluate the plan based on whether school boards were provided both
the flexibility and financial resources to implement reform.
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ASBSD on deck in Senate, House Ed
Posted Wednesday, January 18, 2012
ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany is slated to speak
before the Senate and House Education Committees this week. Pogany will speak
to the Senate
Education Committee on Thursday morning at 8:00 am, and then to members of House
Education Friday morning at 7:45 am.
The 20 to 30 minute presentations will introduce the association,
convey school board member legislative priorities and provide a brief overview of Costly Cuts: A Survey of South Dakota
Schools, the publication the association released last November detailing
the impact of recent dramatic cuts to K-12 education.
The committee meetings will be broadcast live on South
Dakota Public Broadcasting.
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Start your engines...
Posted Tuesday, January 10, 2012
South Dakota's annual lawmaking session begins today. The Legislature will convene at 1 pm to hear Gov. Dennis Daugaard deliver his second state-of-the-state speech.
While most details have been embargoed until the governor speaks to lawmakers, Open Forum can confirm that K-12 education will be a major focus of the governor's speech. Stick with your friendly neighborhood legislative edu-blog for details as they happen (or, if you would like, mouse on over to South Dakota Public Broadcasting to hear the governor's comments for yourself).
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ASBSD legislative resources
Posted Wednesday, January 4, 2012
South Dakota’s annual lawmaking session gets underway Jan. 10,
which means it’s time to dust off ASBSD’s legislative tools. To prepare for
session, here is a brief overview of the ways in which members and the public
can access ASBSD’s advocacy resources.
ADVOCACY CENTRAL
Advocacy Central is a portion of the ASBSD homepage that contains
links to all the latest legislative information. Advocacy Central is on the
left side of ASBSD.org just below the headline rotator. From Advocacy Central,
you can access the tools you need to stay informed and active during session.
ADVOCACY CENTRAL
OPEN FORUM BLOG
ASBSD’s legislative blog Open Forum provides daily legislative
updates throughout session. You can access the blog from Advocacy Central, or
directly by visiting www.asbsd.org/blog.
Open Forum delivers breakdowns of legislation, news from committee meetings and
recaps of House and Senate floor action. Subscribe to our RSS feed and have the
news delivered to your email inbox when updates are available.
OPEN FORUM BLOG
ASBSD BILL TRACKER
Follow bills through the legislative process by using ASBSD’s
legislative bill tracker. You can access it from Advocacy Central, or directly
by visiting www.asbsd.org/billtracker.
The web-based application houses every bill your association tracks on behalf
of our members, providing at-a-glance summaries of the bill and ASBSD’s
position on the measure. The bill tracker is also an interactive tool – to
learn more about its capabilities, visit the “Using the Bill Tracker” window at
the top of the page (or click
here).
ASBSD BILL TRACKER
ASBSD ADVOCACY PLATFORM
ASBSD represents school boards at the state level and acts within
the advocacy platform adopted by the membership each year at the ASBSD Delegate
Assembly. The platform is available online and can be accessed from Advocacy
Central.
ASBSD ADVOCACY PLATFORM
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ASBSD statement on Gov. Rounds' FY11 Budget Request
Posted Monday, December 14, 2009
PIERRE, SD – ASBSD Executive Director issues the following statement regarding Gov. Rounds’ FY11 budget request.
“We are disappointed but not surprised by Gov. Rounds’ proposal to eliminate the 1.2 percent per-student increase for K-12 education.
The sluggish economic recovery challenges state policymakers with tight budgets and hard decisions, a combination that South Dakota school board members have unfortunately been facing for more than a decade. The proposed budget will make it even more difficult for school districts to maintain basic education programs in the face of rising costs.
South Dakotans strongly value public education and believe that K-12 education should be the top priority in the state budget. In order for the governor’s recommendations to stand, lawmakers will ultimately have to convince the public that education funding was frozen as an absolute last resort.
At first glance, it appears that the governor has proposed more than $50 million in new state spending while preserving nearly $75 million in state reserves and at the same time balancing the budget, in part, by forgoing legally required K-12 increases and shifting education spending to local property tax payers. We are encouraged that the proposal does support continuing a number of K-12 formula provisions, including aid for districts with fluctuating enrollment and funding for districts serving sparsely populated areas.
ASBSD will spend the coming weeks reviewing the governor’s entire proposed budget. We anticipate a healthy dialogue leading up to and during legislative session, and we intend to participate fully in the coming discussion.
In particular, we hope the administration shares the new information they’ve learned that caused them to reverse an argument made a year ago that changing the state aid funding formula is not permissible under the conditions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”
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