en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Wed, 22 May 2013 16:52:46 GMT 15 By Mary Dick
South Dakota schools may be facing a double-digit budget cut next year. Governor Dennis Daugaard is proposing a 127 million dollar cut to the general fund to offset the state deficit. This cut will mostly effect education. “I think the worst part for the staff is the unknown. The teachers hear all these stories and I don’t want to jump too soon until I know an exact dollar amount. It’s safe to say we will have to use some of our reserve,” said Dakota Valley Superintendant Al Leber. Dakota Valley currently has 1.7 million dollars in a reserve fund that will cover the state budget cuts for about two years. Also, enrollment is increasing which will increase the amount of money the district receives per student. However, some cutting back is inevitable, and it has some teachers worried. “I think the cuts are unnecessary. We are cutting only to try to balance the budget. We can find money for other stuff in our budget and education is taking a back seat. I think that the students are our future, and we should be way more concerned about them rather than other things we can spend the money on,” said history teacher Vince Tucker. Teachers in the district believe that they already run a fiscally responsible program, so they are worried that any cuts may negatively affect students. “I think in South Dakota one of our greatest strengths lays in our students and if we don’t prepare them well for the future then we’re not preparing South Dakota for its future,” said English teacher Kim Bacon. Many teachers have contacted legislators with this concern that law makers are considering lowering the cuts from 10 percent to four to six percent. Even so, some things in the district may have to be cut which has some students debating which cuts are best. “I hope sports and athletics will get cut and then trips, and extra-curriculars, anything non-essential. I’d rather have them cut sports than anything. School is about education, that’s the purpose. In other countries sports are completely separate from school,” said student Gary Christiansen. Others have different opinions. “We should buy fewer books for the library since everyone is using computers now,” said student Abbie Huber. Talks of specific cuts will have to wait until the final decision by the state legislature, which should come near the end of the thirty-seven day regular legislative session. ]]> Wed, 23 Mar 2011 19:08:36 GMT