South Dakota Board of Regents member Pam Roberts participates in a December 2023 board meeting in Brookings. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
South Dakota public university leaders called on lawmakers Thursday in Brookings to restore $9 million in campus maintenance funding after a cut enacted by the Legislature earlier this year.
“As I stated in the past, and will state in the future, I think it was very shortsighted and disappointing that this was cut,” South Dakota Board of Regents member Pam Roberts said. “The state has such a huge investment in infrastructure, and to not maintain it is just not appropriate.”
The Board of Regents approved an approximately $345 million state general fund budget request for fiscal year 2027 (up $31.7 million from the 2026 fiscal year), prioritizing infrastructure repairs, rising insurance costs and technology upgrades across the state’s university system. Governor Larry Rhoden will consider the request as he prepares a proposed budget for lawmakers ahead of this winter’s legislative session in Pierre.
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The state general fund contributes about a third of the university system’s nearly $1 billion budget, with another third coming from tuition and fees, and the last third from federal funding.
University presidents said an urgent need is reversing the maintenance cut. Lawmakers dropped support of building maintenance to 1.23% of the total replacement cost for campus buildings, which is down from the typical 2% target.
“As stewards of these facilities, we have a responsibility to prevent them from falling into disrepair,” a board report states.
The report says $17.13 million is the amount needed to reach the 2% target.
University presidents from around the state warned that underfunding maintenance accelerates deterioration, creates safety risks and inflates future costs.
“Every deferred maintenance dollar can lead to four to seven times that in future repair costs,” University of South Dakota President Sheila Gestring told the board.
The budget request includes $4 million to cover rising building insurance premiums, which have jumped nearly 500% systemwide since 2020, according to the board report.
Technology upgrades are another priority. Universities are seeking $7.9 million to modernize infrastructure, $2.75 million for cybersecurity and $4.5 million to migrate core data to a cloud-based system.
Board President Tim Rave said the budget request balances fiscal realities with long-term needs.
“Higher education is one of the most important investments a state can make in its future,” Rave said. “Our request focuses on sustaining that investment while being mindful stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
