Increasing teacher salaries was one of the goals of the 2016 South Dakota Legislative session. One educator believes the impact will long-lasting.

The Blue Ribbon Task Force convened by Governor Dennis Daugaard a year ago determined that boosting educator pay would go a long way to improve South Dakota schools. Sioux Falls Superintendent Dr. Brian Maher says there will be gains both in the short-term and long-term.

“We haven’t seen the benefit from it yet. It will begin to impact teacher salaries a few months from now. Our teachers are going to see on average a 6.82 percent increase this year. Then I think we are going to see the benefit from that for years to come.”

Another result of improving salaries according to Maher would be an easier path to recruiting and retaining teachers down the road.

“In terms of being able to target youngsters into the profession of education I think we’re going to see that as a benefit over time. Also I think we are going to see our retention rate (rise) for those who have chosen education to stay in the profession.”

Maher points out that other employee groups within the Sioux Falls School District will also prosper because of the tax increase.

Sioux Falls Schools is still searching for Special Education teachers, which has been a critical area of need for the last two years.

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