A video of South Dakota teachers on their hands and knees grabbing cash for their classrooms has caused massive outrage on social media, including from some lawmakers.
The video shared on social media by a local reporter shows teachers taking part in a ‘Dash for Cash’ event, which includes the educators wearing helmets and scrambling for about $5,000 worth of single-dollar bills in a hockey rink.
Ten teachers were invited to battle for the cash at a minor league hockey game, as Sioux Falls Stampede fans watched from the stands.
The video has caused a storm of outrage, as well as confusion, on social media where critics have questioned spending priorities in the US. Some lawmakers even jumped into the conversation, including congressional Democrats like Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota).
“We spend billions on weapons systems our military doesn’t want, but teachers are forced to fight over $1 bills on the ground because our schools are so underfunded,” McGovern tweeted in reaction to the video on Monday.
A spokesperson for the group that donated the money for the event (CU Mortgage) defended the event as something “awesome” to do for teachers.
“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,” the spokesperson told the Argus Leader.
However, not everyone agreed that the visuals were as spirit-lifting as presented, with some critics calling the scenes “dystopian,” and others recalling the widespread practice of teachers having to spend their own money on school supplies.