Josh Haiar-South Dakota Searchlight
One of South Dakota’s wealthiest businessmen says an aspect of economic development often gets overlooked — great public schools.
“If families know their children can get a top-quality education in Mitchell, that makes us more attractive than bigger, busier places,” said Roger Musick, who started and sold the telecommunications and software company, Innovative Systems.
In mid-August, Musick devoted $33 million to education in his hometown of about 15,000 people. That includes a $15 million endowment for Mitchell Public Schools, another $15 million for Dakota Wesleyan University, and $3 million to get program expansions rolling immediately without waiting for the endowment to collect interest.
Bank of America will invest the money. The endowment will earn about 7% annually. Five percent will support programs each year. Two percent will be reinvested to grow the account.
A five-member board will oversee the programs. Members include Mitchell’s superintendent, the school board president, one board appointee, Dakota Wesleyan’s president and Musick.
Working parents
Musick has brought a lot of workers to Mitchell over his decades in business. He said it wasn’t the Corn Palace, the lake or the city’s events that convinced applicants to move. What they wanted was a quality education system for their kids and a safe place to leave them during the workday.
So one of the projects expands Mitchell’s “Begindergarten” program. The class serves children old enough for kindergarten who are not quite ready socially or academically.
The state funds only a half-day Begindergarten program, which limited access for working parents, Musick explained. The endowment expands Mitchell’s program to allow for full-day classes.
I want to live in a society where everybody is well educated, not just the people that can afford it. I have nothing against private education, but it will typically only be available to people who can afford it. Public education is what we have to have.
– Roger Musick
Musick said enrollment has already risen 80%, and the goal is to make it so that parents do not have to choose between waiting another year or sending their child unprepared.
After-school programs are also a priority. With the new funding, each public elementary school is hosting its own after-school program, staffed by certified teachers and aides, so parents no longer need to arrange rides to off-site locations.
“Some kids have great support at home to get their homework done. Some don’t,” Musick said. “This way, every child gets that help, and they also get experiences they might never have had otherwise.”
Students complete homework, receive tutoring, and participate in activities like sports and the arts.
“I hope this becomes a really good workforce recruitment tool,” Musick said.
Tressa Wede, director of education and community engagement at Dakota Wesleyan in Mitchell, said demand is high. She said at L.B. Williams Elementary, where she previously taught, about 140 students are already taking advantage of the after-school program.
“The reception has been phenomenal,” she said.
At the university, the endowment will pay for teaching scholarships — encouraging more students to pursue careers as educators. Additionally, the fund will pay for Mitchell teachers to pursue their master’s degree. Musick said that’s all because teachers in South Dakota struggle with low salaries, discouraging people from pursuing the profession. The state ranks 46th nationally for teacher pay.
“Our teachers are far more valuable than that, and we need more emphasis there,” Musick said.
Wede said the initiative is making Mitchell’s teachers feel valued and she expects more aspiring educators to choose the community to call home. The master’s degree program requires scholarship recipients to teach in Mitchell for three years.
“This is probably the most exciting time I have experienced as a teacher,” she said. “We go into this because we want to make a positive difference, and here we are being supported in doing that.”
A belief in public education
The public school funding boost in Mitchell comes amid statewide ideological and political battles over education.
Republican lawmakers in Pierre are weighing reallocating more public school funding toward alternatives such as homeschooling or vouchers. Some have leveled allegations that public school teachers are indoctrinating children and passed a bill to “protect students” from “divisive concepts.” They debated legislation during the last session requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted and taught in public school classrooms statewide. The bill narrowly failed in the House after passing the Senate.
Musick attended Mitchell’s schools and sent his children there. He said public education remains essential and deserves more focus and respect.
“I want to live in a society where everybody is well educated, not just the people that can afford it,” Musick said. “I have nothing against private education, but it will typically only be available to people who can afford it. Public education is what we have to have.”
Musick said he will track progress through the district’s report card and feedback from teachers. He hopes the project inspires other communities and state leaders to put more focus on public education.
“If you look at countries where people are happiest, like Norway and Denmark, education is really valued. Teachers are paid well and thought of highly,” Musick said. “That’s the kind of culture we need here.”
But even if Mitchell’s population never grows beyond 15,000, Musick said the gift will still have been worth it, because “we’ll have a lot of people who are smarter and more successful because of this focus on education.”
Editor Seth Tupper did not participate in the editing of this story due to conflict-of-interest concerns.