Parkston School District 33-3

Hello, PSD patrons.

Today I would like to visit with you about Governor Noem’s proposed budget item called an Education Savings Account (ESA), Tuition Tax Credits, School Vouchers, Tax Credit Scholarships, and Debit Cards. Regardless of the name, it is a program trending across the US that many state governments and education departments are having to confront. They are better known as school vouchers. However, due to the myriads of difficulties school vouchers have created for states, especially in their general fund budgets, proponents of the concept are using different names for the program because the name “school voucher,” has recently come under scrutiny and has a shroud of negativity associated with it.

One critical question to address is “What is an ESA?” It is the premise of using state general fund tax dollars to help parents, many of whom have students that currently do not attend public school, pay for tuition to send their children to private, religious, and charter schools, as well as the option to educate their children on their own, otherwise known as “alternative or home school.”

The constitution of the state of South Dakota guarantees the opportunity for a public education for all its school-aged residents. What it does not provide is a method to redirect the state’s tax dollars and divert them to those who want a form of education for their children other than public school.

 I would like to remind you that all public schools are the cornerstone and pride of our communities, welcoming and educating ALL children regardless of background, ability, disability, or socioeconomic status. The divergence of South Dakota tax dollars into private, charter, and alternative or home school instruction along with for-profit institutions undermines Article VIII of our state’s constitution.

Our communities have always been built on our public schools' ability to provide equitable, high-quality education for all children regardless of their zip code. The proponents of the Education Savings Account program will advocate for the proposal based on the concept of “school choice.”  Do not be misled by this statement as the state of South Dakota has already answered those individuals' calls for school choice through codified law in the form of open enrollment, ability to attend private school, and alternative home school instruction. The state has gone as far as creating a program called Partners for Education, which is a program that allows insurance companies that do business in our state to receive a tax credit from our state allowing the insurance company to divert a portion of their tax burden, otherwise owed to the state, to the program. This program then provides scholarships for those who qualify to attend private schools. These school choice options have existed for many years.  South Dakota has provided school choice while maintaining the integrity and foundation of our communities through the public school system. Now those same voices, including our Governor, are proposing to take tax dollars and redirect them to those families who have chosen an education opportunity other than one of our state’s public schools. She states the reason for doing so is that Education Savings Accounts will empower families and drive competition when considering education options for their children. Each of these is a hallmark of American free markets and in turn, will improve education for all students because of the notion education systems now must compete for students.

There are roughly 138,000 students in grades K-12 who attend public schools. There are another estimated 20,000 students who attend private schools, and another approximately 10,000 students who choose alternative home school instruction. That is approximately 158,000 students. The Governor believes that this is a program through the legislative appropriations process that should be an opportunity available to every student in the state someday. Her proposal outlines a $3,000.00 expenditure per every student who meets the criteria for admittance into the program. I want everyone to know that with this money comes no accountability or responsibility like all public schools are held accountable for. The program gives free rein to the parents of those students who qualify to use the dollars as they see fit to fund their child’s private, charter, online, or alternative-home school education. This is an estimated cost of $474,000,000 million.

In 2023, South Dakota's general fund expenditure for all PK-12 public education was only $258,000,000, which was 30% of the state’s total budget for that year. Educators' concern is that there appears to be a disconnect between the cost of public education currently supported by the state and the proposed cost “for every student” of the Education Savings Account program.

Research indicates that voucher programs consistently fail to improve academic outcomes. Most recently, research from the non-profit “Economic Policy Institute” reports how "School Vouchers undermine efforts to provide an excellent public education for all." It most notably states that "Public education is worth preserving. It should be seen as one of the most important achievements in our country's history and is crucial for the social and economic welfare of future generations." It also warns of the paradox that while ESA’s takes students away from public schools, thus perhaps reducing the state’s cost to public education, nearly every introduced voucher program has resulted in increased state spending as the cost of school vouchers continues to rise." This is the case with the state of Arizona. One only needs to do a simple Google search of “School vouchers in Arizona” to read about how a proposed pilot program became universal in that state after a two-year pilot, and it realized an increase in the state’s budget for the program from $55 million to $550 million in that timeframe. That resulted in a 1000% increase. Arizona school districts are closing schools with regularity due to the lack of funding that is now being diverted to the School Voucher program.

As an educator of 32 years and public-school advocate, I ask that we not dismantle a system that is the bedrock of our communities as public schools are the only education agency that provides ALL children with the opportunity to learn, be fed, be safe, and belong.

The state of South Dakota has been notorious for underfunding its current obligation to public education. As a result, South Dakota has consistently ranked last in the nation in average teacher pay all the while the public school districts continue to prepare their students to statistically and comparatively do well when compared to other states in the nation.

Now we are asking our state legislators and specifically those on the appropriations committee to consider diverting more tax dollars away from public education to allow those who already have their children in one of the previously mentioned education systems and hand it to them to decide how they would like to use the public’s tax dollars for something other than public education.

What does this mean for the PSD? It will be less dollars for every facet of our education system. This could and probably would lead to budget cuts if this ESA/School Voucher concept gets funded and grows over time. How do we cut our budget? That will be programs and employees. 80 % of a school district’s budget is human resources. The school board would have to consider downsizing, so expenses meet revenues. This would include eliminating administrative positions, programs such as CTE, Art, Music, Athletics, Supplies, and Transportation along with increased classroom size. This will likely become a reality as cutting teaching positions at every school level will be a strategy considered to reduce the district’s expenses.

My questions for the patrons of the PSD are simply these:  Do you agree to expend your public tax dollars to help fund the education of students whose parents choose not to support your public school district? Do you want to consider eliminating the educational learning opportunities for your children to create such a program as well as the funding mechanism to support the proposed Education Savings Account Program?

The children of the Parkston Public Schools and any other public school in the state of SD will have their education opportunities threatened or worse at risk of being eliminated if the ESA program is funded or is written into codified law. Our state legislators need to hear from the parents, grandparents, families, and community members expressing their concerns and disapproval of this proposed legislation.

Below are many links that address Educations Savings Accounts/School Vouchers. I encourage everyone to take some time to read and become better informed. The future of Parkston Public School is at stake.