Simplified: Sioux Falls Simplified spoke face-to-face with dozens of legislative candidates in the metro area. All candidates were asked the same slate of questions, and you can find comprehensive coverage for each district at sfsimplified.com.

Don't know your legislative district? This interactive map can help you find it.

Here's what we asked:

Do you support using tax dollars to subsidize private schooling, homeschooling or other school choice initiatives?

Here's what candidates said:

District 2

Adam Long: "I'm not for that. I’ve seen multiple methods shown to me with vouchers and different things, and at this point I haven't seen anything that would make sense to keep the public schools thriving and do that. Right now nothing's been shown to me that makes sense."

Manuel Luschas "No. I support the choice by itself – people should have choices of what they want to do. But they always have the option to go to public school, so I think public school should be funded by the taxpayer.

• "If people want to do something else, that's their personal choice, and they have to fund it with their personal funds."

Blake Rife: Could not be reached for comment.

See more from District 2 candidates here:

Meet the Dist. 2 folks looking to represent you in Pierre

District 2's lone state senate seat has already been decided as Sen. John Sjaarda will return to Pierre unopposed and in a new chamber. But, the district has three men vying to represent its people in two open seats in the South Dakota House of Representatives.

Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 6

Garret Campbell: "Not really, I’m not a big fan of private schools. I’m fine if you want to do it, but just don’t take too much of the state’s money and the people’s tax dollars and put it to private schools."

Jerry Jongeling: "As long as it doesn't take away from public education."

Elliott Neff: "I do believe that if we are paying tax dollars, I think parents should have the choice of where they educate. That's freedom. That's their choice.

• "Should the dollars that they're paying for education be 100% only in the public school setting as opposed to something that supports the parents' choice of education? I lean more even towards the freedoms I like – how much should government even be involved in directing our education?
• "It seems to me that the public schools currently are paid by our local tax dollars and provide some benefit to non-attendees. It's a facility they could utilize. There are programs they could do. So, is it an all or nothing? No.
• "But I think when a parent pays taxes, that are going to something that is not truly benefiting them, I think that can and should be considered."

Austin Wolf: "Before we talk about private schools, we have to make sure public schools have what they need.

• "South Dakota is not Chicago. We're not a big municipality where a lot of people can afford to go to private school. And the ones that can – they have that option here.
• "I agree that parents should have some direction and some say in what their kids are taught, but I have full faith in the public school system we have in South Dakota. I don't think pumping money into private schools is the way to go."

See more from District 6 candidates here:

Meet the Dist. 6 folks looking to represent you in Pierre

District 6's lone senate seat has already been decided, as Ernie Otten will return to Pierre unopposed. But there's a full slate of candidates vying for the two open seats in the South Dakota House of Representative.

Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 9

Amanda Potter: "I do not. I am fine with school choice, but public dollars for education belong in public education. We cannot sit here and talk about how kids need more from their school but not give schools the resources they need to provide that."

Megan Tschetter: "I’m still learning about all of that ... I think all kids learn uniquely, and I believe that parents need to have whatever’s best for that child. That's why I chose to home-school some kids. I think parents should have liberty to support whatever works best for them.

• "As far as subsidizing, I don't know a lot about it, but I'm willing to learn about it."

Tesa Schwans: "I would be in support of having some sort of a voucher put into place so that if there are kids that are having struggles, or if there are kids that are getting left behind in a system that is not willing to address the needs they have, I think it’d be a great opportunity for those kids to get the help that they need on the front end and get the resources they need.

"I, for one, do not want to see kids left behind in the system. For that reason alone, yes, I would be in support of that."

See more from District 9 candidates here:

Meet the Dist. 9 folks who want to represent you in Pierre

District 9's lone senate seat has already been decided, and Sen. Joy Hohn will return to Pierre for another term. Three women are vying for the remaining two state house seats in a rare all-female district representing Hartford and northwest Sioux Falls.

Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 10

Liz Larson (Senate): "No. The reason why is that private schools and homeschools can choose whoever they want to educate and choose who they don’t. The public’s money — it can’t go to something like that.

• "You can’t take taxpayer dollars and only give it to some people in a system that’s designed to be public. Right now you do have school choice. But do they need to be subsidized by taxpayers? (I see it as) an unfair use (of tax dollars) and not equitable."

Michael Dupic (Senate): Declined to be interviewed.

Adam Bair (House): "No, very clearly no."

Kathleen Brudvig (House): "I do not. Every parent obviously has the choice to send their kids to a private school or do an alternative education setup like home-schooling. But public dollars belong in public schools, and that’s that."

Kimberly Petterson (House): "I haven’t given it a ton of thought. I do think there should be some choice of schools.

• "I do think that if you’re a taxpayer you should be able to have some help in sending your child to a private school if that’s your choice. I do think that probably would be beneficial to the taxpayer and might help to increase competition as well within schools. People going to private schools because they’re getting some help — that might help to increase the competition in our public schools."

John Pohlman (House): "I wouldn’t advocate using any funds that could potentially hurt public schools.

• "So if we were to subsidize private schools with vouchers or things of that nature, I would want to make sure that we have the funding in place to not adversely affect public education.
• "We have a constitutional requirement that we have to meet with regards to education, and I wouldn’t want to do anything that would harm public schools. I’m a big proponent of public school."

See more from District 10 candidates here:

Meet the Dist. 10 folks looking to represent you in Pierre

District 10 is one of few districts in the Sioux Falls area that was able to field both Democratic and Republican candidates in both the house and senate races. Meet the candidates here.

Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 11

Chris Karr (Senate): Did not respond to interview requests.

Aaron Matson (Senate): "No, I don’t. If people want to do that, that’s their choice, but I don’t think public money should be used for private education."

Brian Mulder (House): "I haven't gotten there yet, just because again we haven't reached our full potential just with our basic school systems, so that's why I have not reached doing that.

• "Understanding the community I represent and my district, I did not stand in the way. I did support the president's tax credit that we had to approve as a state toward homeschool or private school options ... but until we fund our school system that we have right now I can't get there quite yet."

Sonja Mentzer (House): "No. I think public tax dollars should go to public schools."

Tracey Quint (House): "One of the issues that I did kind of get involved in and start researching a little bit was public charter schools. I don’t necessarily support funding private schools, but if we can initiate something around public charter schools so kids are learning the way that they learn best ... I do support that."

Keri Weems (House) "I think if there’s any funding mechanism that we have, there has to be accountability. I know there are some people who battle that, but I really think accountability isn’t something to fear – but something to make you better.

• "I am not for fully funding private schools or homeschoolers, but I think I would be open to something that might cover curriculum or things like that."

See more from District 11 candidates here:

Meet the Dist. 11 folks who want to represent you in Pierre

Six candidates are looking to represent this geographically small but populous district, and both house and senate seats are contested.

Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 12

Amber Arlint (House): "I think at the very heart of these issues is parents and communities wanting the best for their children. Parents are the ones in the driver’s seat knowing what is going to be the best fit for their kid. ...

• "The largest challenge that we run into is every program sounds great until we figure out how to fund it. We have not been able to fund (public) education at the levels we need to see student success outcomes increase.
• Do you support using tax dollars to subsidize private schools, homeschooling, etc.? "Partners in education is great because it’s got some great guardrails on it. My overall philosophy is we first need to fund public education and meet public education needs. Then, once we are able to meet our public education needs, I am very into expanding how we fund education. But we have to start with public education first."

Stephanie Arne (House): "No. I believe public tax dollars should go toward public schools.

• "I am so happy that South Dakota parents have many opportunities to choose from ... However, that is a choice and a gift. To make sure all children are afforded the same opportunity, we need to provide a strong public school system with good teachers and good pay so we have the best outcomes for our students.
• "That requires a lot of funds, and public taxpayer dollars should go to public schools. If you can go above and beyond to educate your students, fantastic, and where appropriate we can discuss supporting additional programs."

Kerry Loudenslager (House): "I’ve got an open mind on that too. ... I think parents know what’s best to fit their children’s needs more than anybody.

• "If they choose a school that has a better athletics department or music department, they should have a say in choosing which school they want their child to attend.
• "From what I understand, somewhere around $7,000 per student is allocated (for public schools). ... I don’t think it’s unreasonable to have that $7,000 allocated to that child’s education to follow that student wherever they go."

Kari Shanard-Koenders (Senate): "My feeling on that is if we could fund our public schools to the level that they needed, I would support that. But at this point in time, we can’t even fund our public schools to the point we need to.

• "In my opinion, no – not at this point in time."

Joe Zweifel (Senate): Could not be reached for comment.

See more from District 12 candidates here:

Meet the Dist. 12 folks who want to represent you in Pierre

District 12 has some heavy hitters who are no longer in play. Here's a closer look at who's looking to represent the central and southwest Sioux Falls district.

Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 13

Ali Rae Horsted: "No. I think public schools are already having a hard enough time as it is, and public funds should be used for public things.

• "It’s great that families have the opportunity to choose whether to home-school or send their kids to private school. There are already some programs in place that provide assistance. I just don’t think it’s something we need to expand upon when there are other, in my opinion, more pressing issues deserving of taxpayer funds."

John Hughes: "I think we need to address our public education system first. ... I don’t see that the people that promote charter schools or private education as a taxpayer‑funded alternative have reached enough consensus to put forth a workable plan. I think school choice is a right of every parent, but I think detracting from our tax base right now is wrong‑headed."

Jack Kolbeck said the home-school families he's encountered aren't "apt to take state funding," but overall he has no problem with home-schooling.

• "The charter schools I’ve gotta take a little deeper look into that. If they’re gonna be subsidized by the state they would have to abide – would have to take every student that would apply. I just don’t believe they can handpick here and there.
• "The private school system very good. I don’t have a problem with it, but I think taking the tax dollars away from public schools ... I’d be reluctant."

See more from candidates in District 13:

Meet the Dist. 13 folks who want to represent you in Pierre

District 13's lone state senate seat has already been decided as veteran lawmaker Sue Peterson will run unopposed. Meanwhile, three people are vying for the two open seats in the South Dakota House of Representatives.

Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 14

Taylor Rae Rehfeldt: Could not be reached for comment before deadline.

Tyler Tordsen: "Not if it takes away from public education. ... If money wasn’t an object, and we had endless resources, and we could provide vouchers and stuff more than what we already do, I wouldn’t be opposed to that.

• "I think you should have the option. I’m supportive of educational choice to a degree, but not to the point where it takes away from public education. We have to give that right in all parts of our state."

Erinn Williams: "Absolutely not. I've been looking into Partners in Education (tax-credit scholarships). It's another $1.5 million that we took out of the general fund to put into a fund that’s getting underused."

See more from District 14 candidates:

Meet the Dist. 14 folks who want to represent you in Pierre

District 14's senate seat is already decided as Larry Zikmund will return to Pierre unopposed. That leaves three people vying for the two open seats in the South Dakota House of Representatives.

Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 15

June CopperStad (House): "I do not. I might have a bit of a grey area on homeschooling, but for private schooling I just don’t think it’s an appropriate use of public dollars.

• "Public education is a public resource, and private education is not, simply by the bar of income. Some people can access private education and others cannot.
• "I don’t want to discredit any of the positives that might come from private education. I think that’s wonderful if you can get that sort of specialized attention, but every child deserves that. So when we’re not even meeting the burden of need in our public school system, our public dollars cannot go to a private effort."

Brenda Lawrence (Senate): Could not be reached for comment before publication deadline.

Erik Muckey (Senate): "No. I think it’s important for folks to understand there’s a very big difference between school choice and school subsidy.

• "I think it’s important to remember that those who choose a different form of education were the most vocally against school vouchers like this – those were homeschool parents. Homeschoolers do not want the government in their education. If you are going to take public money, and you ask us as appropriators to be watchdogs on the taxpayer dime, area homeschools, private schools, other options going to be held to the same accountability for taking public money."

Joni Tschetter (House): "We all pay taxes whether we homeschool or not. I think homeschools and charter schools provide a whole different type of environment for kids to learn. Every kid learns differently. Some kids thrive in the public school. I believe that some of the tax dollars should go to that, though to what extent I’m not knowledgeable about that and I cannot speak to that. But we all pay taxes whether the kids go to public school or not."

• Tschetter added that she would also support more vocational education.

Kadyn Wittman (House): "No. Any time we are putting funding into alternatives to public school it typically means we are pulling those dollars away from our public schools."

Andre Zachariahs (House): "Before we can really think about that, we need to fully fund schools.

• "People have that choice. I was home-schooled growing up. We’ve seen some models across the country. Concerns include stripping out funding from public schools. I would not be in favor of removing public school funding, but I do think parents have that choice.
• "I want to make sure we are a state environment where parents can make that choice. I have four boys. They do not learn the same, and they are incredibly active. We’ve talked about homeschooling them at different points too, but it’s ultimately a family choice."

See more from District 15 candidates here:

Meet the Dist. 15 folks who want to represent you in Pierre

District 15 one of few districts in the Sioux Falls area in which every single seat is hotly contested by both parties.

Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 16

Lisa Bogue: Could not be reached for comment.

Tim Rhead: "I do not. Do I think those things are fine? Absolutely, but I don’t believe that’s where public dollars are meant to go. Obviously choice is important. However, if you choose to do that you need to also choose to pay for that privately."

John Shubeck: "I do not. I am very supportive of homeschooling.

• "Most homeschoolers will tell you they don’t support vouchers for homeschool because they don’t want the government dictating what they can and can’t teach.
• "For private schooling, we’ve seen it attempted in other states, and it ends up driving up costs. It’s kind of like one of those things where you’ve got a public gym and a private gym. You can go to the public swimming pool, or you can go to the one with the fancy slides, but the public swimming pool is a service to the community. Choosing to go to (private school) over public school is your choice, and you’ll pay extra."

See more from District 16 candidates:

Meet the Dist. 16 folks who want to represent you in Pierre

District 16's lone senate seat has already been decided, as Kevin D. Jensen will return to Pierre running unopposed. That leaves three people vying for two open seats in the South Dakota House of Representatives.

Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

What happens next?

Election Day is Nov. 3.

You can check your voter registration on the Secretary of State's voter information portal. The voter registration deadline is Oct. 19.