South Dakota Farmers Union leaders have concerns with portions of Governor Dennis Daugaard’s education funding legislation. Legislative Specialist Matt Sibley says they agree with the Governor that teacher pay needs to be increased but disagree on the methods used to get there.
He says they support increasing teacher pay and providing property tax relief but don’t feel there’s enough in either component to get the job done. Sibley says the education bill also should have been paid for with sales tax dollars with some exemptions.
Sibley says his organization doesn’t want to see shifting of wind tax revenue to help pay for education reform.
Some lawmakers also have mixed feelings about the Governor’s education legislation.