There used to be a modestly popular lefty poster and T-shirt slogan about how the world would be a better place if “our schools get all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.” That isn’t the path the U.S. has taken.

In South Dakota, “local teachers scrambled for $5,000 worth of cash during the Sioux Falls Stampede hockey game on Saturday night,” Annie Todd reported Sunday in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. Ten local teachers participated in the first ever Dash for Cash, trying to grab as many dollar bills as they could in less than five minutes. The money, donated by CU Mortgage Direct, is meant to go toward a participating teacher’s classroom or school. 

“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,” CU Mortgage Direct’s Ryan Knudson told the Argus Leader. “The teachers in this area, and any teacher, they deserve whatever the heck they get.” 

Many people watching the teachers scrambling for cash in the middle of a cheering ice rink arena were less convinced of the event’s awesomeness. The word “dystopian” was thrown around a lot. 

The teachers dashing for cash said they were glad for any financial assistance they could scrouge up. “I think it’s really cool when the community offers an opportunity like this for things that educations a lot of times pay out of pocket for,” said Alexandria Kuyper, who grabbed $592 for her fifth-grade classroom. High school teacher Barry Longden said he plans to use his $616 haul on new equipment for the e-sports club he coaches. “I’ve been throwing my name in the hat everywhere I can find so that way I can get opportunities to get money for the kids,” he added

“South Dakotan teachers earned an average of $49,000 in 2020,” Todd reports, citing South Dakota News Watch. “The state ranks 49th in teacher salary in the United States.” Read more at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.