The 2020 Legislature closed its final regular meeting on a stinky note, yet again abandoning a plan to offer needs-based scholarships to South Dakota’s university students:
Dakota’s Promise scholarships lost in the end-of-session shuffle Thursday.
State senators voted 26-8 to not concur and not appoint another conference committee on HB 1266.
…“Just let go,” Senator Jeff Partridge, a Rapid City Republican, advised others in the chamber Thursday.
The Dakota’s Promise concept had a $2 million appropriation in the original version of SB 72. The Senate passed it 32-2, but the House Appropriations Committee then killed it 8-1 [Bob Mercer, “Senators Give Up on Dakota’s Promise,” KELO-TV, 2020.03.12].
Yeah, why bother? They’re just kids trying to get a college education and boost their earning and spending power. Who needs ’em? Besides, we have soybean plants to subsidize with tax breaks.
The original Dakota’s Promise Scholarship plan would have cost $2 million. We gave AGP three times that amount to bring jobs and hydrogen sulfide to Aberdeen. We can afford to subsidize big corporations, but we can’t afford to subsidize low-income students.
Jeff must be a damn poor financial adviser not to see the value in helping these folks get an education. Pull some of that money from Tru Shrimp, that was a very poor investment, and put it into the kids who can make a difference.
Jerry whatever happened with tru shrimp? That was a huge deal in Madison, but I haven’t seen anything happening.
Kari, that is a republican thingy. Kind of like a Partridge thingy, just more state money wasted and not putting that money into the things that matter to this state, like educational opportunities. With enrollments down, you’d think Partridge and his gang would figure that out…nope.
That’s another class on their way out of SD. Buh-bye.