With many weeks to go, the bill providing public schools a proposed one percent increase in funding cleared its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday (1/25).

 

Senate Appropriations committee members unanimously passed Senate Bill 35, adjusts the general education fund levy, average teacher salary target and the overhead rate for additional salary and benefit costs.

 

In December, Gov. Dennis Daugaard proposed a one percent increase in funding for K-12 schools for fiscal year 2018.

 

The increase –  as proposed in SB 35 – would increase the state’s average teacher target salary to $48, 985, up from $48,500, which was the target set in the legislative package passed last year that provided revenue from the half-cent increase to the state’s sales tax for teacher salaries.

 

In addition, the bill would increase district’s overhead cost, which factors in administrators and other district employees, from 31 percent to 31.04 percent and sets the agricultural property tax levy at $1.447 per $1,000 of valuation, owner-occupied at $3.420 and commercial property at $7.401.

 

SB 35 now moves to the Senate floor, along with Senate Bill 33, which adjusts the special education fund levy and disability level allocations, for review, but remains a variable based on sales tax collection for the state in fiscal year 2017. After six months of the fiscal calendar, the state has ongoing receipts coming in $23.8 million under the adopted budget.

 

For updates on SB 33 and 35, and other pieces of legislation, check the ASBSD Blog, Twitter feed and Bill Tracker.