Napoli Wants to Boost Teacher Salaries

I'm not sure exactly how it would work, but I think Senator Bill Napoli (R-Rapid City) has a good idea for increasing teacher salaries.

From KELO:

Republican state Senator Bill Napoli says lawmakers shouldn't provide extra money until schools show how the money will go to boost teacher salaries.

As I pointed out in the Rapid City Journal several months ago, the distribution of the education dollar is extremely unbalanced.

U.S. Department of Education statistics say teachers make up only 50.6 percent of elementary and secondary education staff, or about 65 percent if you throw in guidance counselors and aides. If the product is classroom instruction, the remaining 35-49 percent seems like a high ratio of support staff, to me.

Of course you need support staff in any operation. But 35-49%? This ratio indicates a whole lot of wheel-spinning with not nearly enough traction.

As long as you hand the education establishment a pile of money and trust those running the establishment to distribute it wisely, you're going to be disappointed. They'll always find "good" reasons to hire another paper pusher or give themselves a raise before that money makes it into the classroom.

Consider a list from the Argus Leader of the top 12 state employee salaries a few months ago where half of them were in the education field...but none in K-12 and only a couple that might darken the door of a classroom occasionally.

Throwing money at education isn't the answer. If it was, the #1 $14,542 per student that Washington D.C. spends would have them #1 in achievement...instead of 51st.

Senator Napoli is on the right track. If legislators are serious about doing something positive with education spending, they'll find a way to ensure more of our tax dollars make it into the classroom and not stuck in some bureaucrat's office.