Senators Allocate One-Time $12M To Education
Air Date:03/08/2011
By Kealey Bultena
Senators approved a measure that gives schools about $97 for each student, on top of the per-student allocation. Senators amended and passed House Bill 1110 based on the state’s revenue projections for the next fiscal year.
Despite speaking all session against the use of one-time money for ongoing expenses, a majority of lawmakers in the Senate voted to give South Dakota schools a one-time provision of more than $12 million. Senate Majority Leader Russ Olson explains.
"The call for 1110 is to take any of the excess revenue that we’ve had and try to put that back into our K through 12 education system. We’ve listened to you, and heard you very strongly say that if there’s excess money, we know you guys have a tought job out there in Pierre. Nobody wants a ten percent cut," Olson says.
Minority leader Jason Frerichs says he applauds the money for education, but the $12 million doesn’t solve the school funding problem.
"I hope that we still can support this effort, but that we also do not stop here at this, whether it ends up being a six percent landing for education, that we still remember that class sizes will have to get bigger, and there will still be students in our schools that will be affected," Frerichs says.
Before changing the amount to $12 million, House Bill 1110 allocated just one dollar to state education funding, a placeholder until lawmakers received the final projections.
Member stations download audio file here.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
