South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

State Funding

Munson Rounds Sioux Falls State Funding

Is there a disconnect between Rounds and Munson?

l3wis 0Comments

It’s about time Mayor Munson gets a clue about the economy

One has to wonder after watching events this week.

First the week started off, all fine and dandy, with our esteemed Mayor telling us that Sioux Falls will weather the storm, even though people are getting canned left and right. Then towards the end of the week, Rounds came out to tell us the budget had to be trimmed by $50 million and our shortfall could be $85 million next year in revenue.

So what spreadsheet is Munson reading from? Or better yet, what is our city finance director Eugene ‘Montgomery Burns’ Rowenhorst providing him?

It’s no secret that Pierre has a hissy fit everytime Sioux Falls wants to limit revenue sources. They threatened us with a lawsuit when we wanted to limit Video Lottery telephone booth casinos.

Why is that? Because a monster chunk of money comes from Sioux Falls to fund state government, and ironically from Iowa, Minnesota and probably even Nebraska.

So what isn’t Munson telling us? I think Rounds’ estimate of an $85 million dollar shortfall is conservative and fluff at best, I think it’s gonna be a lot more. And since most of that kitty comes from Sioux Falls, wouldn’t that mean Sioux Falls is gonna be short on revenue also in 2009? Well logically one would come to the conclusion that yes, professor Ehrisman, it was the candlestick in the billard room.

So when is Munson gonna drop this bombshell on us? I suggest he does it, ASAP, I also suggest the council goes into emergency session and amends the 2009 budget to clean out all the extras, like arterial roads we don’t need, $750,000 suspension bridges, million dollar historical windows for the Pavilion, fancy-smancy trim on the new library, new parks, and the list goes on an on.

I may have been hard on Northside Davey over the last few years, but this is no time to play politics with the city’s budget, this is serious shit, and needs to be treated as such.

Amend now Dave, or the only legacy you will have is a failed one.

Road Funding Rounds State Funding State Legislature

I suppose I better comment about this . . . blah.

l3wis 8Comments

Smilin’ Mike Rounds is just full of ample advice;

For that to happen, Rounds told lawmakers at the opening of the 2009 legislative session Tuesday, the Legislature will need to resist the urge to spend more.

Thanks Mike. Good thing there wasn’t a mirror in front of you when you said that, cuz it would have freaking exploded!

Rounds held out hope that money from a federal stimulus plan could help South Dakota with some of its backlog in highway and bridge projects, but he said an increase in federal funding won’t solve all of the state’s problems. He asked lawmakers to review the situation with highway funding before proposing any increase in the state gas tax.

Cuz, God forbid I have to get on my hands and knees and kiss Obama’s ass. Well you better start puckering up.

Legislators are expected to consider fee increases for government services and licensing across a broad spectrum, including vehicle registration costs. He warned lawmakers that groups affected by fee increases would lobby them.

“These people and groups will argue they’re special and should continue to receive special treatment,” he said.

Like all of your campaign contributors?

“The State of the State is traditionally a time when the governor presents new directions – new initiatives,” Senate Minority Leader Scott Heidepriem said. “There was none of that.”

What governor are you talking about Scott?

Rounds compared several areas in South Dakota from where they were in 2002 – the year he first was elected – to where they are now. He said schools have made proficiency gains in both reading and math scores. And fewer high school graduates than before require remedial math and reading classes when entering college.

Yeah, test scores go up, when you don’t have all those High School dropouts bringing down your averages. South Dakota has one of the highest dropouts rates in the nation.

But in the end, the main concern for lawmakers isn’t what might be, but what is. And Rounds told lawmakers they would have to make tough choices.

“We can’t spend more than what we have,” he said.

Can you let Mayor Munson know that, I think he didn’t get the memo.

economy Education funding Governor Rounds Heidepriem Rounds State Funding State Legislature

SD education funding three ring circus

l3wis 7Comments

Once again Mike Rounds refuses to cut his do nothing-big government programs in Pierre to help fund education;

Democrats have said they want to cut elsewhere in state government to find money for aid to schools. Senate Democratic Leader Scott Heidepriem of Sioux Falls said state government in previous years has forced agencies to cut spending by a certain percentage, and that approach could work again.

“It’s so simple it’s amazing to me,” Heidepriem said, adding that he doesn’t believe the Republican governor is willing to control the size of state government.

It doesn’t surprise me one bit. Even when the economy was good, Rounds refused to properly fund education, now he has an excuse and he is going to run with it.

While more than 90 percent of Democrats said they wanted to boost state aid to schools by more than the 3 percent recommended by Rounds, only about a quarter of Republicans said they believed state aid should increase by more than that.

Even if the legislature gets a super-majority to be veto proof on an education bill (which I don’t see) Rounds will still find a way to overstep the legislators, just like he did with the blender pump tax and laptops (how did that work out for yah, Mike). He simply doesn’t like to be told what to do. This will be a true test for the legislators. Will the typical Republican cheerleaders like Krebs cave to their favorite state Republican? Will the Dems do more then mouth off to the media and internets about how much of a brat Mike is? (seriously, that’s my job, not yours.)

It’s time to show Rounds that he has been extremely ineffective as a governor and quite possibly, unethical (another thing legislators are too chicken-shit to do something about).

POVERTY HAS AN EFFECT ON EDUCATION FUNDING

One has to wonder though, maybe education funding is sufficient in South Dakota. Student test scores are always pretty decent, but high school dropout rates are high. One reason may be the growing problem of poverty in our state.

A couple weeks back a SF School district representative gave a presentation to the city council about poverty in Sioux Falls. Some scary stuff, here are a few highlights.

– 40% of caucasion children in the SF school district are on FREE or reduced lunches, and that number is as high as 75% in minority community.

– Supt. Dr. Homan doesn’t like to have late starts with bad weather because she wants to make sure these kids get something to eat for breakfast.

Some of the other numbers are hard to swallow to. A lot of these kids also have little winter clothing to wear, and often go hungry on the weekends. The amazing part about it is, it is not discussed much by our local or statewide politicians, it is kind of a ‘silent problem’. After the presentation, one councilor even had this to say, “Thank you for the presentation, but what is this council supposed to do with this information?” And maybe this is the problem. I think politicians think if at least 51% of people in the community are doing OKAY, we can ignore the minority. I find it ironic that Sioux Falls spends more per year on mowing an acre of parkland then they do educating a child. Who knew grass was more important than a decent education? Nice priorities, Huh? I also wonder how much money in education funding is going towards feeding, counseling and healthcare for some of these kids? Something that parents should be responsible for, that is, if they can afford it. The problem isn’t just funding education properly, it is also about creating a business atmosphere in SD that creates more living wage jobs. Government can’t create higher paying jobs, but they can help attract those kinds of businesses. Just imagine if we spent half the money we do on tourism for business development, what kind of impact that would have on the state? (of course than Lawrence and Schiller would have to go out and find real clients).

It’s time for our legislators (it’s too late for the governor) to realize the root problem of education funding – Poverty and low wages.

« Previous Page — Next Page »

You Missed

1st Amendment Charter Revision Commission Downtown Sioux Falls Elections Employment SF City Council Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Charter Revision Commission

UPDATE: Does the City Council see a raise in their future?

1st Amendment City Administration Building city Link Downtown Sioux Falls Minnehaha County Planning Commission SF City Council Sioux Falls

Pitiful Pavers and absent minded Engineers

1st Amendment Code Enforcement Downtown Sioux Falls SFPD Sioux Falls

Code Enforcement ALERT!

1st Amendment Veterans Day

Jesse Ventura Sounds off