YANKTON, S.D. (KTIV) -
Education funding has been a hot topic in the South Dakota legislature for the past few months.
But while there's talk of increasing the funding, some school districts will still be in the red.
One area school district's plan to get in the black got some key endorsements Friday.
Folks in Yankton, South Dakota filled the Community Meeting Room, Friday morning, to hear from South Dakota's lawmakers.
"I think that provides great leadership for the community. It sends the right signal I think to the taxpayer," said Ron Kraft, Yankton, SD resident.
But the topic was only on one issue; the Yankton School District's opt out plan.
"It's not a permanent solution but it looks like a reasonable bridge over the next couple years just to keep the quality up in the classroom," said Rep. Bernie Hunhoff (D) District 18.
Faced with a multimillion dollar shortfall for next school year, the district is asking the residents to "opt-out" of a property tax freeze.
They tried to "opt out" a few years ago but residents voted it down.
This time the opt-out is for a smaller amount of money in a shorter amount of time.
"The shorter time is important because the taxpayer want to be able to look at this again in two years and see what it looks like, what's happened in that two year time," said Kraft.
Friday the district got some key endorsements for the opt-out from four state Yankton lawmakers, including Lt. Governor Matt Michels.
"I think that it's critical not only for the Yankton community, but our state and our nation and that's why I commend this school board and the community" said Lt. Gov. Matt Michels (R) South Dakota.
Representative Bernie Hunhoff says that the opt-out will not only help the education sector, but the state as well.
"If we're going to maintain good faculty in schools we're going to have to become more competitive South Dakota is really facing a workforce shortage" said Hunhoff.
"Education results in individuals who use businesses it results in families moving into areas," said Michels.
But some don't feel the same way about the opt-out.
One of the reasons they're against the opt-out is because they feel the school district has not shown financial restraint.
Others felt there's too much secrecy between the school system and the town itself.
