They have more than double what they need.
Members of South Dakota's main teachers union have submitted 30,000 petition signatures seeking a public vote aimed at blocking Governor Dennis Daugaard's plan to give bonuses to top teachers and phase out teacher tenure.
The South Dakota Education Association needed to submit 15,855 valid signatures to refer House Bill 1234, passed by this year's South Dakota Legislature, to a vote in the November election. If the signatures are validated, the law will be suspended until the result of the November vote is known.
"South Dakota educators and non-educators got out there and got the signatures necessary to engage in a conversation for South Dakota students. I'm excited," said Sue Podoll, President of the Rapid City Education Association.
Union members say House Bill 1234 allows Pierre to dictate how local school districts do business and diverts attention away from the need for additional state aid for schools.
"I believe there were good intentions with our lawmakers, but I think the whole process, the whole HB 1234, was just so rushed and cobbled together," Podoll said.
But Lawmakers who support HB 1234 say the bill was well thought out. They say it's about developing some sort of standard so leaders can measure the progress of kids and they say it doesn't dictate anything. Instead, lawmakers say it sets up four work groups composed of teachers, principals, and school board members, which will simply allow a discussion to begin. So, they say those rallying against the bill have missed the point.
"This is not about trying to force anything on the teachers and I've heard so many bad stories about how the teachers feel about this. This was never about them, this was about helping them," Sen. Bruce Rampelberg, R-SD, said. "This was not about putting them down, or trying to find a way to criticize them. We have great teachers. But how do we make them better? That's what this bill aimed to do from the start."
Whatever the intentions and the arguments on each side, voters may soon have the final say.
"The tremendous response we received over the last 90 days shows that voters also have these same concerns and want a chance to vote on this legislation in November," SDEA President Sandy Arseneault said in a release.
The Secretary of State's Office will work to verify the petition signatures during the next several weeks.
