State revenue numbers rebounded in September despite sales tax figures coming in under projection for the second consecutive month.

 

Total revenue figures for the month of September in South Dakota were $3.5 million higher for the month than those adopted by the legislature earlier this year. Sale tax figures, however, came in under projection by a little more than a million dollars. Sales tax revenue in August was more than $6 million less than projected.

 

September’s revenue numbers were buoyed by good gains compared to projections from the contractor’s excise tax and unclaimed property receipts, which marked the first time in fiscal year 2018 either had been in the black.

 

The positive September helped decrease the debt in revenue projections for FY18 thus far to a deficit of $2.7 million. And while that figure is improvement compared to this time last year, it remains an issue in need of monitoring.

 

“Revenue figures for the month are encouraging, but public schools need to pay close attention to these numbers throughout the year,” ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany said.

 

“Our legislators came through to provide an increase to our schools last year despite the struggles, but we saw firsthand the struggles of our revenue figures can affect state funding and need to remain aware of the situation at hand.”

 

Schools received a 0.3 percent increase in state aid for the 2017-18 school year even though revenue figures were well below the adopted projections.

 

ASBSD will continue to monitor state revenue figures and their impact on state aid. For updates on this, and other matters affecting state aid, check the ASBSD Blog and Twitter feed.