Statement on Sen. Rounds’ Bill to Eliminate the US Department of Education

Sioux Falls, SD — South Dakota Democratic Party Executive Director Dan Ahlers released the following statement after Senator Mike Rounds proposed legislation to eliminate the US Department of Education.

“Senator Rounds’ bill to abolish the Department of Education is reckless and jeopardizes the educational opportunities for all of South Dakota’s children,” said Ahlers. “Shifting responsibilities to another federal department will still require people to implement and manage these programs. The cost to operate these programs does not go away. Creating block grants for states to operate the post-secondary programs will again only shift the costs to state government.

South Dakota Republican leadership has a long history of neglect and underfunding of our public schools and universities. Senator Rounds himself spent much of his time as governor demonizing public schools and educators. He also closed the SD School for the Deaf, limiting access to resources and opportunities for students with disabilities. South Dakota ranks 44th in investment per student and 49th in teacher pay. The cost to attend our public universities is double compared to our neighboring state of Wyoming and even more than the state of California. Clearly our state government does not value public education, so why would we place the responsibility of running essential federal programs in their hands.

Rounds’ bill will hit our rural communities and schools the most where we already struggle to recruit teachers and provide educational services to critical need students. In my time as a state legislator, I have known many families who have left South Dakota in order to get the special education services they needed for their child. I’ve listened to rural school administrators share their funding challenges, difficulty hiring staff and maintaining an aging facility. As a substitute teacher, I’ve seen first hand the struggles that schools deal with to recruit teachers, support staff and other workers. I have also seen how hard these people work and how much they care for their students.

It’s time for people like Senator Rounds to stop the pandering and grand standing. Stop making these uniformed and unsubstantiated comments about our schools, teachers and support staff. For once, maybe listen to our educators and their needs. It’s a tough and often thankless job that goes beyond the hours of a typical day. But they do it because they want to make a difference. Maybe our leaders could do a little more to support them. Maybe our leaders (like Senator Rounds) could spend a little more time in our schools, so you actually understand what is going on and the challenges these people face every day.”

For questions, you can contact the SDDP Executive Director Dan Ahlers at [email protected] or 605-940-3071. You can also contact the SDDP office at 605-271-5405 or email [email protected].