Early Wednesday morning Sioux Falls John F. Kennedy Elementary School posted the following along with a picture on their Facebook page:

JFK Teachers, Staff and Administration are Taking Action for Our Students by walking into the building in solidarity this morning. Education should be a priority, no matter what. This is a promise to our students.

The post also included #RedforEd. Neatoday.org explains that "REDFORED" is a movement designed to bring awareness to needs in our public education system such as:

  • Classrooms that are conducive to learning.
  • Salaries that allow educators to afford to stay in the profession they love without having to work another job.
  • Access to opportunities, no matter what you look like, where you're from, or how much money your parents have.

USA Today reports South Dakota ranks 49th in teacher pay. This is how that broke out some of the numbers:

  • Median salary, school teachers: $41,271
  • Median salary, all workers: $32,340 (4th lowest)
  • Per pupil expenditure: $11,133 (19th lowest)
  • High school graduation rate: 83.9 percent (23rd lowest)
  • Cost of living: 11.8 percent less than national avg. (4th lowest)

More From KXRB