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Office of Gov. Dennis Daugaard
500 E. Capitol Ave.
Pierre, S.D. 57501
(605) 773-3212
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, November 17, 2016
CONTACT: Tony Venhuizen or Kelsey Pritchard at 605-773-3212
EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS: For video and audio from the Governor on teacher pay, visit news.sd.gov/media.aspx and click on “Video” or “Audio” under “Governor Dennis Daugaard.”
Blue Ribbon Education Package Lifts Average Salary By 11.9 Percent
PIERRE, S.D. – Preliminary data indicates that South Dakota’s teacher salaries are on track to meeting a statewide target average of $48,500, which legislators adopted earlier this year as a part of the Blue Ribbon education funding package.
According to a survey of school districts, the projected average salary of public school teachers for Fiscal Year 2017 is $46,924, which represents an 11.9 percent increase statewide.
“I am very pleased that, in one year, our schools have made incredible progress toward our target salary goal,” said Gov. Dennis Daugaard. “The new funding formula asks schools to become more efficient, and we know that will take some time. An increase of nearly 12 percent in the first year indicates that our schools kept their commitment to invest this new funding in our teachers.”
Final school district salary data will not be available until Fall of 2017, after Fiscal Year 2017 has ended. The Department of Education conducted a survey based on preliminary data to gauge the first-year impact of the Blue Ribbon education package.
A comparison of actual FY16 teacher salaries and projected FY17 salaries, by school district, is available on the Department of Education’s website.
Video of Gov. Daugaard is available for download here.
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*A spreadsheet with the preliminary teacher pay data is attached.