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• While 73 percent of the superintendents said low pay is an important reason people do not apply for teaching position, 70 percent said pay is also an important factor in why teachers leave their district.
• South Dakota had the nation's lowest average teacher salary in the 2012-2013 school year at $39,580, far below the national average of $56,383 and substantially below average paychecks in neighboring states, according to the U.S. Education Department.
• About half the South Dakota superintendents said increasing pay would enhance the number and quality of people applying for teaching jobs.
• Rob Monson, executive director of the school administrators organization, said South Dakota teachers are leaving because they can earn more money teaching in nearby states or in non-teaching jobs.
• "You've got great teachers in front of these students, and they're leaving the profession to go into private industry because they can double or triple their income," Monson said.
• Joel Jorgenson, superintendent of the Hamlin School District, said he got about 50 applicants for any elementary teaching job a decade ago, but only got nine last year. For middle school and high school openings, he got about four applicants 10 years ago, but got a total of four applicants for three positions in special education, English and art last year.
• Low pay is big factor in the drop in college graduates in teaching fields, Jorgenson said.
• "We've been very fortunate. We have a great staff, but it's getting to the point where I'm afraid at some point I'm not going to be able to say that just because of the lack of applicants we have out there right now," Jorgenson said.
• School officials are joining with statewide education groups to ask the Legislature to boost state aid to schools by more than Gov. Dennis Daugaard has recommended.
• The Republican governor's budget would boost state aid to schools by nearly 3 percent next year, nearly double the inflationary increase required by law. But the education groups are asking lawmakers to instead provide a 3.8 percent increase, which would put spending per student back where it was before budget cuts were made in 2011.
• State aid was frozen in 2010 and cut in 2011 as part of Dauagaard's plan to slash most state spending by 10 percent. Because of some changes made by the Legislature, the effective cut to school districts in 2011 was 6.6 percent.
• The 3.8 percent boost, proposed by a legislative study panel that met last sum

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