VIEWPOINT | Don’t erode South Dakota’s education bedrock

Guest column by South Dakota public education organizations

Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash

Dear South Dakotans,

We are writing to our friends and neighbors as representatives of education-focused organizations. Our organizations are comprised of South Dakotans who have served South Dakota communities and their children for decades. We express our strong concern and opposition to the introduction of school voucher programs in South Dakota. Voucher programs have many names, such as education savings accounts, tuition tax credits, vouchers, grants, tax credit scholarships or debit cards. These programs divert critical funding away from your public schools, which serve as the lifeblood of communities across our great state. Our public schools are the foundation of our community’s future as schools in your community produce your next workforce and serve as the draw for our young people to come home and raise their South Dakota families.

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