PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - State lawmakers have rejected a bill that would have banned public school administrators from collective bargaining in right-to-work South Dakota.
The House Education Committee voted 8-6 Friday against the proposal, which critics called unnecessary.
House Speaker Mark Mickelson, the bill’s sponsor, says there are times when the actions of the union run contrary to schools’ mission to provide good, free education. He says at least 10 school districts, including Sioux Falls and Rapid City, have administrative collective bargaining units.
Mary McCorkle is president of the South Dakota Education Association, a teacher’s union. She says administrators aren’t members of the union, but do come together locally to bargain.
The committee deferred action until next week on a bill that would prohibit school districts from paying employees while they do union-related work.
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