Ten teachers in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, scrambled for $1 bills on hands and knees last week during a hockey game, spurring critics to call the event “dehumanizing” and “dystopian,” according to the Washington Post.
The event was intended to help teachers pay for classroom supplies and other materials, according to the report. Schools had to apply to enter the competition, dubbed “Dash for Cash,” which featured $5,000 in $1 bills donated by a local mortgage company. The cash was dumped on a carpet on the ice rink and teachers raced to stuff bills into their pockets.
“Teachers should never have to go through something like this to be able to get the resources they need to meet the basic educational needs of our students — whether it’s here in Sioux Falls or anywhere in the United States,” state Sen. Reynold Nesiba, whose district includes part of Sioux Falls, told the Post.
South Dakota teachers are among the lowest paid in the country, the Post reported, earning an average annual salary of about $49,000.
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