South Dakota Lawmakers Propose School Study; Public Dialogue Not Mentioned

Before filing school funding lawsuits, potential plaintiffs often wait a year or two in order to see if the legislature and governor will act to correct problems in the state education funding system. When the legislature and governor fail to reach agreement on vital school-finance issues, plaintiffs decide to prepare or file a lawsuit soon after the legislative session ends.

In South Dakota, however, the Legislative Research Council (LRC) has turned the usual chain of events on its head. With no lawsuit currently pending or threatened, the Council's Executive Board has announced that it plans to do the sort of study that plaintiffs usually seek as part of their remedy.

Over the summer, the legislators plan to research the characteristics of an effective school district, the best organizational structure for such a district, and the amount of money it costs. Several bills to change the school funding or organizational systems failed in the last legislative session, and the LRC has suggested that legislators' lack of knowledge on these subjects was a significant reason.

Orv Smidt, a member of the LRC's Executive Board, made that claim in a letter written on the board's behalf to Governor Mike Rounds, asking him to cooperate in the study. On May 12, 2003, six members of the LRC met with Rounds to talk about the study. Rounds approved a $15.1 million increase in state aid for next year but admits that declining enrollment, lack of technology, new federal standards, and lack of money endanger the future of South Dakota schools.

South Dakota citizens know that many of their schools are in trouble, but one superintendent suggested that small and mid-size schools fear the study may ultimately lead to school closures. There has been no indication that public dialogue would be a part of the study. The session between the LRC members and Governor Rounds was closed.

Prepared May 14, 2003