The Sioux Falls School Board gives the South Dakota Legislature low marks for the recently concluded legislative session. The district tracked 73 bills, with six of the seven bills it supported passing, while 39 opposed measures failed.
South Dakota House members failed to override Gov. Larry Rhoden’s veto of a childcare assistance bill today (Thursday), with the vote falling short of the required two-thirds majority.
South Dakota lawmakers have approved a 1.25% increase in education funding, as proposed by former Governor Kristi Noem in her final budget. While the increase is now official, many educators are expressing disappointment, as funding had been raised by at least 4% in each of the past three years. Advocates had hoped for a 3% increase, and now, with tighter financial conditions, some schools may face the difficult decision of making budget cuts to navigate these challenging times.
At the Mitchell School Board meeting on March 10, Superintendent Joe Childs announced that the district had made significant strides in reducing chronic absenteeism, achieving a 4.7% overall improvement. Mitchell Middle School saw a notable 3% drop, with Attendance Liaison Aaron Klinger playing a pivotal role in helping students stay in school, particularly at the middle school level. Other schools, such as Gertie Belle Rogers and L.B. Williams, also showed strong improvements, with absenteeism decreasing by 15% and 28%, respectively.
State lawmakers are hoping for the Governor’s signature on a bill aimed at easing the state’s childcare crisis. House Minority Leader Erin Healy sponsored the bill, which would make childcare workers eligible for childcare assistance payments.
The Mitchell Board of Education will discuss a potential street name change at its meeting today at 5:30pm. The proposal seeks to rename MTI Drive to Mitchell Tech Drive to reflect the college’s recent name change.
Forty-five students are set to graduate this week from the Basic Law Enforcement Training Academy in Pierre. After 13 weeks of rigorous training, which covers law, arrest control tactics, firearms, criminal investigations, and more, the ceremony will take place today at 10 a.m. at the George S. Mickelson Criminal Justice Center.
Fifty teachers’ aides from school districts across South Dakota are being invited to participate in the new Teacher Apprenticeship Pathway program, a unique opportunity to advance their careers. This third round of the program is made possible by funding from the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation.
A House bill aimed at boosting childcare employment is now headed to the Senate floor after being approved by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee with a 5-2 vote on Monday. House Bill 11-32 seeks to expand eligibility for the state’s Childcare Assistance Program by excluding both earned and unearned income from eligibility calculations for applicants employed by childcare service providers.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to review House Bill 1239 this week, a controversial piece of legislation aimed at limiting librarians’ rights. The bill, which has already passed the House, seeks to make it illegal for librarians to allow minors to check out books deemed inappropriate.