Local school districts are beginning to set their budgets for the coming academic year. However, there are new challenges as COVID-era funding moves further into the past and a new crop of legislators leave their fingerprints on law.
The Sioux Falls School District, by far South Dakota’s largest, is preparing to trim as the budget comes into focus.
Superintendent Jane Stavem said there is a middle ground to find, but the work of South Dakota educators is crucial for the state.
“Things change over time, but the education children receive and the people that show up every day to do that work have stayed very stable in the midst of many things that present challenges every single day,” Stavem said.
That proposal is informed, in part, by what advocates say is an underwhelming increase in state aid to educators. Lawmakers passed a 1.25 percent increase to education, while inflation over the past year was closer to three percent.
That, combined with the legislative session in review, was too much for school board vice president Dawn Johnson.
"I’m having major palpitations in my neck right now going through this," Johnson said. "I just had to question, who were these bills in mind for? Were they for the average South Dakotan? What is the purpose of this? We’re working against our average, hardworking people and making it more difficult for our hardworking bodies — we don’t do this for the pay. Who are the legislators serving?”
That includes bills targeting librarians, new regulations for bathroom usage in public buildings, and changes to high school dropout regulations, among other items.
For Johnson, there is a clear answer for South Dakotans to take.
“I know that it can be easy to just not vote — its easy to just skip over those days or go ‘oops, it was today’ — but this is the direct result of us not engaging in our voting system,” Johnson said.
Additional action regarding the budget is expected in coming weeks.