How Does South Dakota's School Funding Compare To Neighbors?

Are South Dakota schools spending enough on their students?

A new study says maybe not.

If you're wondering whether South Dakota is making it rain in our classrooms, Dakota News Now reports that new research from the U.S. Census Bureau says not so much.

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The study indicates the state of South Dakota has been spending the seventh-lowest amount per student nationally in the public school system since 2023.

So how much is that, exactly?

The findings revealed that South Dakota shells out roughly $12,005 per student. Not exactly chump change, but also not honor roll material when it comes to the subject of student spending.

In case you're wondering, that's about $2,000 more than the lowest state on the list, which happens to be Idaho. That gem of a state is spending $10,247 annually per student.

According to Dakota News Now, the U.S. Census Bureau crunched a bunch of numbers to come up with this data. They took into consideration things like a per-student breakdown of salaries and wages, employee benefits, student support, instructional staff support, general administration, and school administration.

Pretty much everything, but the cash made from school-sponsored bake sales.

How do South Dakota's neighbors stack up?

Well, Minnesota leads the neighborhood, spending $16,117 per student, followed by Nebraska, at $15,200, and Iowa at $ 13,792.

Conversely, the top states in the nation when it comes to funding our classroom kids are New York at $30,012, and Vermont, which spends around $26,345 per student.

Good news, it's not all doom and budget gloom. Dakota News Now reports that South Dakota bumped up its funding for education in early 2025.

The South Dakota State Legislature did approve 1.25% increase in education funding after the start of the year. But, before you start high-fiving your kid's teacher, you should know that number is still much lower than the national average.

It sounds like South Dakota still has some homework to do when it comes to investing in its students.

Who knows, maybe we will get a higher grade on our next report card?

Source: Dakota News Now

Do You Know Your South Dakota College and University Mascots

The college football experience is an ultimate high for football fans and it takes several other teams to make that happen week after week during the season.

Just think about what goes into gameday.

First and foremost, the players and coaching staff who put in hours and hours of practice and training to play in front of their fans. Then there's field prep, game officials, live broadcasts, concessions, and on-the-field entertainment. Yep, entertainment.

Second to the game, who do you watch? The cheerleaders? The band at halftime? What about the mascot? That's a job not many people can do.

I asked Sioux Falls native and former Cagey mascot for the Sioux Falls Canaries and Little Red & Herbie for the Nebraska Huskers Nate Welch about being a mascot:

What does it take to be a mascot?
"Losing a bet or filling an opportunity!" Welch says, "An internal energized desire to love life. After meeting great performers who are introverts out of costume, they become the center of attention when they take the stage. And also feeding off the performance of others."
Why does the mascot never talk?
"Know your role and shut your mouth. You are there to entertain. Tell the story with your actions and not your voice."
Advice to someone putting on that costume for the first time?
"Remember you are now in a costume. Have fun. Otherwise, you're just a dork in tights. If the fur ain't flying you ain't trying."

So, can you name the mascots at our South Dakota Colleges and Universities? Check out the gallery below:

Gallery Credit: Dave Roberts