Sen. Rhoden: School Funding Bill Goes Against SD Principles
Air Date:01/31/2011
By Kealey Bultena
The Senate supports letting South Dakota school districts use capital outlay funds for some general costs two years longer than the law allows. But not all lawmakers say the facilities fund should apply to other costs through 2014.
Senate Majority Leader Russell Olson says school districts need a continued option to pay for some transportation costs through capital outlay dollars, especially because education funding is uncertain. But another Republican disagrees. Senator Larry Rhoden says the bill goes against state education priorities.
"The one area that was not addressed in ’95 as far as equalizing education in the state is capital outlay. That is a problem that I believe haunts the state to this day, and I believe it’s a problem that some day this body will have to fix, because it doesn’t provide equal funding, and there is a wide, wide variance across the state as far as how much fund that capital outlay does provide for local school districts," Rhoden says.
Rhoden cast one of six "no" votes in the Senate. The bill moves to the House of Representatives.
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