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House Bill 1150, which requires the reciting of the pledge of allegiance at the start of each school day in every public school classroom, officially went undefeated with Gov. Dennis Daugaard signing the bill into law recently. HB 1150 had zero dissenting votes in its run through the committee and floor votes of the […]
Perfect run for Pledge bill Read More »
Gov. Dennis Daugaard has been busy signing bills and among them are two Common Core related pieces of legislation. Senate Bill 63 faced no opposing votes during its path through the legislature. The bill protects the privacy of student records by prohibiting the collection of student information including, political affiliation, religious practices and family
CC compromise bills signed by Gov Read More »
The fervor surrounding school funding had been building. It started in 2011 when the state handed down funding cuts to balance the budget and progressed each year after. During the 2013 legislative interim when the legislature commissioned a school funding study details of an oncoming crisis were discussed. School districts were losing great
Schools receive funding above three percent Read More »
On the 37th legislative day of the 89th legislative session, members of the House and Senate passed the state’s $4.3 billion general fund bill (Senate Bill 187) for fiscal year 2015. Among the many things the budget includes is a 3.35 percent increase in state aid to education, which was approved by members of
Added dollars for schools in budget Read More »
A lot of the talk in Pierre throughout session revolved around legislators doing something above the three percent increase to state aid for schools proposed by Gov. Dennis Daugaard. On Friday, Joint Appropriators backed that sentiment by approving an amendment providing an approximately 3.35 percent increase – for $2.2 million total – to state
Appropriators pass 3.35 percent increase proposal Read More »
The discussion about the levels of school district general fund balances has subtly reemerged in the Capitol building during the home stretch of legislative session. During Friday’s Joint Appropriations committee hearing for Senate Bill 187 – the state’s general fund bill – Rep. Susan Wismer addressed the topic. “We are taking a snapshot
School district fund balances questioned Read More »
An amendment that would have provided schools with a 3.4 percent increase in state aid was killed by the Joint Appropriations committee on Friday. On a 14-4 vote, committee members defeated the proposed amendment to Senate Bill 187, which is the general fund bill. Appropriators are putting the finishing touches on the general fund
State aid increase amendment defeated Read More »
Two amendments introduced to the general fund bill that called for the per-student allocation to be set at $4,805 for the 2014-15 school year were defeated by the Joint Appropriations committee on Friday. Both amendments died on 14-4 votes, with one being tabled without discussion. Rep. Susan Wismer, who introduced one of the
Final plea for $4,805 falls Read More »
It was a bit anticlimactic in appropriations on Thursday, so far as school funding was concerned. Members of the Joint Appropriations committee met for a little over an hour and covered just over a 1/3 of the funding amendments submitted for Senate Bill 187, which is the general fund bill for Fiscal Year 2015.
School funding not discussed on day one of budget debate Read More »
It took a conference committee to bring both legislative chambers to a compromise on a bill intricately linked to providing school districts with the proposed three percent funding increase, but alas, it’s headed to Gov. Dennis Daugaard. Senate Bill 158 saw various iterations on its way through both the House and Senate, but a
Three percent support bills reach Gov. Read More »
Associated School Boards of South Dakota is a private, non-profit organization representing more than 850 local school board members, the school districts they govern and the students they serve.