Students work on schoolwork at Harrisburg School District’s Journey Elementary School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Dec. 5, 2024. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
T.S. Eliot claimed “April is the cruelest month.” Obviously he wasn’t an administrator in South Dakota’s public education system.
For anyone concerned about school funding in South Dakota, December is the cruelest month. That’s when they find out what sort of increase, if any, education will receive in the governor’s budget.
Once they digest that news, the rest of the month can be spent worrying about what sort of bright ideas lawmakers will present in the January legislative session about changing the school funding formula or the exciting new ways that the school system can be used to right the wrongs of society.
Governor aims tax credit at private schools
For public schools this year, November wasn’t all that great a month, either. That’s when Gov. Larry Rhoden announced that the state was signing on to the education tax credit program that was part of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” For some reason the governor was eager to join the program, even though the fine print on the tax credit won’t be ready until 2027.
While the $1,700 tax credit can be used for public school programs, that clearly wasn’t Rhoden’s target audience when he made the announcement. “I’d just as soon give those dollars to a private school than Uncle Sam,” Rhoden said in a South Dakota Searchlight story. “I think they know how to spend it a little wiser than the federal government.”
Maybe the governor’s enthusiasm for a tax credit that doesn’t exist yet is based on the fact that more families in South Dakota are choosing private schools or home schooling. Alternative education in this state has increased 216% since 2015.
No increase for education in governor’s budget
Dec. 2 was a dark day for education, state workers and health care as the “big three” found out that Rhoden’s budget didn’t include a funding increase for any of them.
The governor blamed flat sales tax revenues for the lack of a funding increase. Those who advocate for education and health care point to the fact that not keeping up with inflation will actually serve as a funding cut as they must choose how to make due with flat funding while expenses continue to go up.
This is a curious political tactic for Rhoden. He was the last to enter the race for the Republican nomination, and now one of his first acts as a candidate is presenting a budget that’s sure to be upsetting for many South Dakotans.
Property taxes in the legislative crosshairs
When the Legislature convenes next week to start considering Rhoden’s budget — January is perhaps public education’s second cruelest month — one of the top assignments will be finding a way to relieve the pressure on property taxpayers. Along with state funding, property taxes are a main source of public school funding.
A summer task force assigned to find ways to cut property taxes concluded its work with 19 recommendations. Some of the ideas that didn’t get the endorsement of the task force will also likely end up in bills for the Legislature to consider.
In just about every legislative session, public schools find their funding the target of some legislator who hasn’t been in a classroom for 30 years but thinks he knows what’s best for education. As a special treat, this year public schools will face an entire legislative session where a major source of their funding is subject to the whims of legislators.
As the governor and lawmakers champion the needs of alternative education and prioritize the complaints of property taxpayers, they run the risk of losing track of the importance of public education. With a long state history of making funding for public education a priority, the current mood runs the risk of giving more significance to other matters. That would be a mistake. Public education should be among the state’s highest priorities, not just a political football to get tossed around every December and January.
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