Editor's Note: Since this story was first reported, the number of views of the video has risen to 14 million. The story below includes the update from eight-million.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.–A CUSO-sponsored competition among school teachers that took place in front of a crowd at a hockey game has received international media attention and has been called everything from “demeaning” to something similar to the Netflix hit series Squid Game.
The competition, sponsored by the CUSO CU Mortgage Direct, pitted 10 teachers against each other as the scrambled to grab the $5,000 worth of dollar bills to be used fund school supplies and classroom repairs during a break in a Sioux Falls Stampede hockey game. The teachers had less than five minutes to grab as much money as they could.
Video of the “Dash for Cash” competition went viral on social media showed teachers stuffing the notes down their sweaters and into hats while the audience cheered, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported.
“With everything that has gone on for the last couple of years with teachers and everything, we thought it was an awesome group thing to do for the teachers,” Ryan Knudson, a spokesperson for CU Mortgage Direct, told the Argus Leader.
CU Direct Mortgage has four offices in Sioux Falls and describes itself on its website as having “strong ties to many credit unions throughout the state of South Dakota.”
Fourteen-Million Views
As reports of the event spread and views of the video increased—by Monday morning there had been more than 14-million views of a clip of the event—numerous expressed criticism of the promotion, which across various social media platforms was called “dehumanizing” and “dystopian” as well as a U.S. version of Squid Game, in which the show’s characters compete in deadly games to win a giant piggy bank full of cash.
The American Federation of Teachers president, Randi Weingarten, tweeted that the display was demeaning. “This just feels demeaning … teachers shouldn’t have to dash for dollars for classroom supplies,” she said. “No doubt people probably intended it to be fun, but from the outside it feels terrible.”
In an interview with The Washington Post, state Sen. Reynold Nesiba (D), who represents a portion of Sioux Falls, said that while the competition was probably well-intentioned, it ended up being “a terrible image.”
“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,” he told the publication.
Teachers Say They Didn’t Feel Humiliated
According to the Argus Leader, the teachers said they did not feel humiliated by being a part of the competition.
According to Stampede President Jim Olander, schools had to apply for the competition, and teachers had to explain how they would use the money they won.
The teachers’ schools also received $5 for every ticket they sold to the game.
“The teachers in this area, and any teacher, they deserve whatever the heck they get,” Ryan Knudson, the director of business development and marketing for CU Mortgage Direct, told the Argus Leader.
In the end, the Argus Leader reported Barry Longden, a teacher at a local high school, snatched the most cash — $616. He said he will put his winnings toward an esports program he runs for students. Alexandria Kuyper, a fifth-grade teacher, managed to grab $592. She said she will use the money on treats and decorations for her classroom. Other teachers said they’d use their winnings on flexible seating, standing desks and document cameras to upload lessons online, the paper reported.
Among the Lowest Paid
South Dakota teachers are among the lowest paid in the country. According to a recent report by the National Education Association, South Dakota teachers in the 2019-20 fiscal year earned an average annual salary of about $49,000, behind only Mississippi. In terms of per-student spending, the state ranked 38th, having spent about $10,800 per student in the fall term of that year, according to the report.