Hunhoff, Hawks disappointed in budget address

ip photo of Hunhoff at the South Dakota Democratic Party Convention in Yankton.

According to District 18 legislator Bernie Hunhoff, school officials should not expect much to change regarding school funding in the upcoming legislative session. He warned that more than likely any change in school funding will have to be done by the people of the state through grass-root initiated measures. He noted that he was very disappointed that governor Daugaard didn’t address school funding and teacher salaries in the budget address delivered last week. Hunhoff also commented the way to address the shortfall in the general fund budgets may begin with one-time use monies to get the state through this period of budget issues. He predicted that there would be more than one school funding related initiated measure on the ballot in 2016.

Read story at Yankton Press and Dakotan.

It’s not what Governor Dennis Daugaard said in his annual budget address last week but what he didn’t say that concerns state Representative Paula Hawks, a Democrat from Hartford. “Some things I was hoping to hear about and didn’t hear a lot about were education funding and what we’re going to do about the teacher shortage that’s on everyone’s mind right now, and particularly on the minds of school boards and superintendents across the state,” Hawks said. “So I was looking to hear a little bit more from him on that, a little bit more than 'I’m not going to lead the charge on that.'” [Northern Plains News], link mine.