Latest news with #SenateBill161
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Teachers union looks to lawmakers to allow court-authorized strikes, reform arbitration process
Teachers strike posters line a whiteboard in a Clark County Education Association conference room on Aug. 23, 2019. (Photo by: April Corbin Girnus/Nevada Current) The Clark County teachers union is pushing legislation to speed up the arbitration process and allow teachers to petition district court to allow them to legally go on strike. If the Legislature doesn't pass the proposal — or if Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoes it — the union says it is prepared to make their case directly to Nevada voters through their 'right to strike' initiative, which is already slated to appear on the 2026 General Election ballot. Clark County Education Association, which represents the approximately 18,000 teachers and licensed professionals within the Clark County School District, is backing Senate Bill 161. The bill would establish an expedited arbitration process for teachers unions and school districts, which could kick in if a contract has not been reached 75 days before the start of a new school year. More controversially, the bill would also establish a pathway for K-12 public school teachers to legally go on strike, something they are currently prohibited from doing. The bill, which was given an exemption from standard legislative deadlines, received its first hearing Wednesday night in the Senate Committee on Government Affairs. The bill was immediately passed out of committee on a 5-2 vote and is headed to the full Senate for possible consideration. State Sen. Rochelle Nuygen, the Las Vegas Democrat sponsoring the bill, told the committee that the threshold set in SB 161 to authorize a strike is high. Teachers would have to make the case that their proposed strike would be 'equally or less detrimental' to students than remaining in schools that are failing them through existing policies or conditions. The strike would also not apply to special education services, food services, mental health counseling, and after-school supervision. Nguyen characterized it as a nuanced approach that meets the spirit of the state's existing anti-strike law while addressing the established pattern of prolonged arbitration between the fifth largest school district in the country and its largest bargaining unit. In contrast, the right-to-strike ballot initiative would be a 'blunt instrument,' she argued. Nevada state law prohibits legislators from altering a law established through the initiative petition process for two regular sessions (so, four years) after it is approved by voters, so lawmakers couldn't quickly alter it if issues arose. 'That's the choice,' CCEA Executive Director John Vellardita told the Nevada Current in an interview. 'The choice is: This is going to be on the ballot in '26. We have the resources to run a successful campaign. We've done field research. We have the support.' Bradley Schrager, an attorney who represented the teacher's union in numerous cases two years ago, pointed out in the bill hearing that CCSD and CCEA have reached a negotiation impasse and gone into arbitration four times in the past decade. 'There's only five two-year cycles in a decade,' he added. The pattern of prolonged arbitration means teachers are routinely beginning the academic year without new contracts in place, which can be demoralizing and lead to poor teacher retention, argued CCEA members who spoke in support of the bill. That was the case in 2023, when the Legislature and Lombardo approved a K-12 education budget they routinely described as 'historic' in its funding levels, only to see another impasse and months of public bickering between the district and union. That year, a contract agreement was reached in December, halfway through the school year. That fall, a significant percentage of teachers at a handful of schools coordinated 'sickouts,' leading to those schools closing for one day. The court ruled it strike activity, which put the union at risk of punishment. SB 161 'forces cooperation at a very early time,' said Schrager, and evens the playing field between the union and district. But not everyone agrees with that sentiment. Tom Clark, a lobbyist representing the Nevada Association of School Boards and the Reno+Sparks Chamber of Commerce, suggested teachers strikes would wreak havoc on communities, make national news, and cause pain and suffering to families. Tens of thousands of children could be left without childcare, he added. 'That's the leverage the strike gives to one side of the equation,' he said. 'That imbalance does nothing for negotiations, does nothing for the benefits of students, the teachers, the families, the people in our community that rely on the vital public service that our teachers and our schools provide.' The Nevada State Education Association, whose affiliate units include teachers in non-Clark counties and support staff in CCSD, is opposed to the bill on the grounds it would give teacher's unions an unfair advantage over other bargaining groups. NSEA and CCEA have an antagonistic relationship with one another. The Nevada Association of School Superintendents is also opposed, with lobbyist Mary Pierczynski arguing that states like Nevada have outlawed teacher strikes 'for very good reason.' 'The emphasis tonight has been on Clark County and CCEA but there are 17 school districts in our state and they will all be impacted,' she added. CCSD did not participate in the hearing and has not expressed a public position on the bill. When contacted by the Current for comment, the district's media relations department stated it is tracking the bill. 'District staff work with legislators to monitor changes made to the language in bill drafts. CCSD provides public comment on bills as appropriate throughout the process as the legislation progresses,' continued the statement. Nguyen in her presentation emphasized the bill is not a criticism of Jhone Ebert, CCSD's new superintendent, who started last month. Nguyen said she and others working on the bill are 'rooting for her success.' This year's legislative session is scheduled to end on June 2. That leaves SB 161 a little over three weeks to pass both chambers of the Legislature and make it to the governor's desk.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
School administrators salary cap fails in Senate
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Republican Sen. Sue Peterson wanted salary caps for public school administrators. But a majority of other senators don't. Her legislation, Senate Bill 161, sought to limit school administrators to no more than three times the average teacher salary in each school district. SB 161 squeaked out of the Senate Education Committee 4-3 on Thursday. On Friday, however, it failed in the Senate, 13-22. Peterson said the latest national figures show South Dakota ranks 49th in teacher pay and 16th in administrator pay. Rhoden takes step to possibly run for Governor 'We need to ask ourselves if we want the best teachers in front of our children. Yes, we want good administrators in our schools, but we also need to keep the excellent teachers in our classroom,' Peterson said. Democratic Sen. Jamie Smith, a former teacher whose wife continues to teach, said capping administrators' salaries wasn't the way to raise teachers' salaries. 'But by pushing somebody else down is not how you, how you, how you raise everybody else. No. We're going to make sure we have great administrators in our districts and encourage the best, and we need to work on the teacher part, too,' Smith said. Republican Sen. Kevin Jensen said Peterson's plan could lead to administrators taking pay cuts as teaching ranks turn over. 'In many of our school districts, we have aging and retiring teachers who are at the top of their salary levels, and we're replacing them with entry-level base pay salaries,' Jensen said. Republican Sen. Carl Perry said Peterson's proposal would undercut school boards. 'Is it the school board that's going to make these decisions for us, for you, for your school, for your kids? And do you want local control?' Perry asked. 'If you want local control, then let them do their job.' Peterson replied, 'This is a really good example of where local control is not working. And so if you like the numbers 49 and 16, I urge you to vote no on this bill. If you don't like those numbers, I urge you to vote yes on Senate Bill 161.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill tying SD school administrator salaries to teacher pay passes committee
Rep. Sue Peterson, R-Sioux Falls, on the House floor during the 2024 legislative session. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) South Dakota public school administrative salaries could soon be capped based on teacher pay. Sioux Falls Republican Sen. Sue Peterson told the state Senate Education Committee she introduced Senate Bill 161 to close the gap between the average salaries of teachers and administrators in South Dakota. The state's average teacher salary ranks 49th in the nation, according to the National Education Association, despite a half-percent state sales tax increase in 2016. That infusion raised average teacher pay by about 12% in its first year and bumped South Dakota from last to 47th before the state fell back down in the rankings. South Dakota's average administrator salary ranks 16th in the nation, based on a ZipRecruiter ranking Peterson shared. Administrators, by state law, include superintendents, principals and business managers. Lawmakers decline to endorse Noem-backed state library funding cut, school safety grant program 'That's wrong. This disparity is unacceptable,' Peterson said. 'It's time to prioritize those who are on the front lines of education: our teachers.' The legislation would cap administrative salaries at three times a district's average teacher salary. South Dakota's average teacher salary is $53,153, according to the National Education Association. Under the proposal, a district with that exact rate for average teacher salary wouldn't be able to pay any of its administrators more than about $160,000 a year, Peterson said. The state's average school administrator salary sits at $106,959 a year, based on ZipRecruiter data Peterson shared. The Sioux Falls School District is the largest in the state, serving nearly 24,000 students. Its average teacher salary is $60,138, according to a records request sent to the district. The average administrator salary in the district is $146,828, according to the district. Outgoing Superintendent Jane Stavem, however, was paid a $270,413.11 salary for this school year. There is no nationwide ranking for average administrator pay by state through a professional organization like the National Education Association teacher salary listing, according to Rob Monson, executive director for School Administrators of South Dakota. Monson, who spoke with South Dakota Searchlight after the committee hearing, also said he does not have complete data to compare the state's administrative and teacher salaries. Lawmakers and those testifying in committee did not discuss the accuracy of Peterson's ZipRecruiter information, but its figures for average teacher salary do not square with the National Education Association data. According to ZipRecruiter, which claims to list average salary for jobs based on listings on its site, South Dakota's average teacher salary also ranks 16th in the nation, at $46,590 a year. Monson and other representatives of public school administrators, school boards and teachers oppose the bill, saying it would infringe on school board authority and limit schools' ability to recruit and compete for candidates. The bill would push 'the best' candidates into the private sector or out of state, Monson said. The bill doesn't consider administrators, who also serve as principal, special education director, curriculum director, bus driver and more for rural school districts, Monson said. Nor does it consider salary needs based on school district size, Monson said. Peterson said school boards could separate pay for administrators based on additional roles, meaning they could be paid more than the cap set in the bill if they took on more responsibilities and titles. Sen. Jamie Smith, D-Sioux Falls, said lawmakers and school boards should focus on raising teacher salaries, not pushing administrative salaries down. 'I think we do pay our administrators in our state a fair wage,' Smith said. 'I think our teacher salaries are getting better, but we're not there yet. But I don't think this exactly solves it.' Sen Curt Voight, R-Rapid City, said there needs to be more accountability for leaders in schools. The Legislature passed a bill last year requiring school districts to raise average teacher compensation — salaries and benefits — each year by a rate nearly equal to the increase in state education funding. The aim was to improve accountability and teacher salaries over time. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
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.
