Senate panel moves to cap school administrator pay
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – A bill that would cap school administrator salaries at no more than three times the average teacher salary narrowly passed through the Senate Education Committee.
The committee voted 4-3 to pass Senate Bill 161 on Thursday.
Quadruplet bull calves born on South Dakota ranch
Republican Sen. Sue Peterson noted 44% of the state's budget goes toward education, however, South Dakota ranks nearly last in teacher pay at 49th, but 16th in administrator pay.
'Our teachers are last and our administrators are near the top; that's wrong,' Peterson said. 'This disparity is unacceptable. It's time to prioritize those who are on the front lines of education, our teachers.'
In order to raise pay for administrators, teacher pay must increase first, Peterson added.
Republican Sen. Curt Voight voted in support of the bill and noted the importance of teachers.
'That classroom teacher is the most important person in the education setting in terms of the health and the ultimate success of the students they've been entrusted with,' Voight said. 'That compensation level is not where it needs to be.'
However, Voight did say the extra responsibilities for administrators should be reflected in compensation as well.
Opponents of the bill pointed to those extra responsibilities for administrators, as well as a need for local control within the districts.
Rob Monson with the School Administrators of South Dakota said this would hurt the school's abilities to hire adequate administrators with competitive salaries. He also added that school districts with more students, like Sioux Falls or Rapid City, could have more responsibilities than other districts, but pay wouldn't reflect that.
'Wouldn't we want to have the best CEO we could find to run our schools or to be the building level principal or to run the special education program,' Monson questioned. 'Sometimes when you go after the best, you have to pay a salary that is commensurate.'
Democratic Sen. Jamie Smith added instead of handcuffing administrator pay, we should work to find solutions to increase teacher pay.
'I think we do pay our administrators in our state a fair wage,' he said. 'I think our teachers, we're getting better, but we're not there yet. But I don't think this exactly solves it.'
An attempt to send the bill to the 41st Day failed.
Here's how the Senators voted on passing the bill:
Yays (4)- Marty, Nelson, Peterson, Voight
Nays (3)- Sauder, Smith, Schoenfish
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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