Gov. Dennis Daugaard made the first wave of appointments to his Blue Ribbon Task Force recently.

 

In February, Gov. Daugaard announced plans for the Task Force, which is charged with solving the teacher shortage, reviewing school funding and examining student achievement.

 

The Task Force will be co-chaired by Rep. Jacqueline Sly and Sen. Deb Soholt; each of whom chaired their respective chamber’s education committee during the 2015 legislative session.

 

Joining Rep. Sly on the Task Force from the House is Rep. Justin Cronin, Chair of the House Appropriations committee, Rep. Paula Hawks, a member of the House Education committee, Rep. Mark Mickelson, Speaker Pro Temp, and Rep. Steve Westra, Assistant Majority Leader.

 

Senators joining Sen. Soholt on the Task Force, include Sen. Corey Brown, President Pro Temp, Sen. Troy Heinert, Assistant Minority Leader, Sen. Billie Sutton, Minority Leader, and Sen. Craig Tieszen, Chair of the House Judiciary committee.

 

Secretary of Education Melody Schopp, Gov. Daugaard’s Chief of Staff Tony Venhuizen and Commissioner of the Bureau of Finance and Management Jason Dilges were also appointed to the Task Force.

 

Additional Task Force members, who will include school board members, administrators, teachers and parents, will be appointed following input meetings with current Task Force members.

 

The input meetings have not been scheduled at this time. ASBSD will provide date, time and location of the meetings and plan to be an active participant.

 

The full Blue Ribbon Task Force will meet through the summer and present recommendations in the fall.

 

“We need all stakeholders in education to collaborate on these issues and find solutions,” ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany said. “Our schools need long-term fixes in teacher pay and school funding and we’re optimistic the Blue Ribbon Task Force will provide them.”

 

For updates on the Task Force, check the ASBSD Blog and Twitter feed.