Gov. Kristi Noem’s official budget proposal is coming this week.

 

Last Thursday (1/17), Gov. Noem sent official request to the South Dakota Legislature’s House and Senate for a joint session of the chambers on Wednesday, January 23 beginning at 1 p.m.

 

“I will be giving my budget address, which will outline a lot of the priorities I outlined previously in my State of the State address,” Gov. Noem said in an interview.

 

During her State of the State address, Gov. Noem outlined a few education topics she wanted to focus on including, civics education, homeschool assessment requirement repeal and workforce development. Whether those topics are featured in her budget remains to be seen, but the biggest focus for public schools will be what her recommendation for state aid funding will be.

 

Gov. Noem noted in an interview that she “will be starting with Gov. Daugaard’s budget proposal as a starting point.”

 

During his final budget address in December, former Gov. Dennis Daugaard proposed schools receive a 2.3 percent increase in state aid for Fiscal Year 2020, which meets the  the statutory requirement of schools receiving the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) or 3 percent, whichever is less, as CPI-W came in at 2.3 percent for the fiscal year.

 

“We’re anxiously awaiting the funding proposal for education from Gov. Noem,” ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany said. “We’re hopeful she will follow state statute in her proposal, but school leaders need to be vigilant of what is proposed on Wednesday (1/23).”

 

For updates on the proposed budget and other legislation throughout session, check the ASBSD Blog, Twitter feed, Facebook page and Bill Tracker.