Simplified: School officials in Sioux Falls are ready to advocate for sufficient state funding and fight against specific aspects of property tax reform that they say would hinder schools' ability to serve students. Here's a closer look at where it all stands ahead of the 2026 legislative session.
Why it matters
- The Sioux Falls School Board on Monday approved the district's legislative priorities for state lawmakers in the upcoming 2026 legislative session. A major theme of that session is expected to be property tax reform – driven by a push by both lawmakers and voters to see homeowners pay less money in property taxes.
- The challenge, though, is that property taxes are schools' primary source of revenue. Board President Nan Kelly stressed multiple times during Monday's meeting that it's not a debate about whether to reduce property taxes or fund schools. Both can happen, as echoed by Business Manager Todd Vik.
- But about a third of the 19 specific proposals to reduce property taxes (as outlined here by a state task force) would have a detrimental impact on schools, Vik said.
"They've come out gangbusters trying to affect schools in the proposed legislation for next year," Vik said, referring to state lawmakers.
Tell me more about the property tax conversation
It's not for nothing that South Dakotans are upset about their property tax bills. Property taxes paid by owner-occupied homes have gone up at a faster rate than those paid by commercial and agricultural property owners. (Check out this story from South Dakota Searchlight for more context on that.)
However, those property taxes are a critical piece of funding for local governments.
- Just in anticipation of property tax cuts, Mayor Paul TenHaken "recalibrated" the city budget, for example.
Megan Raposa
What about schools?
Schools are also already tightening their belts. The Sioux Falls School District saw $3 million in budget cuts this year, and that's expected to happen again next year.
The state has also failed to hold up its end of the bargain in terms of funding schools based on an annual increase of 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. During the 2025 session, the state fell short of that promise.
- That's another priority for schools in the 2026 session: getting back to that level of funding.
The district is also gearing up to fight for more local control, noting that what works for a small, rural South Dakota district might not work for Sioux Falls.
"We want less of the state dictating to every school district what they must do, and more about let the locals decide," Vik said.
What happens next?
The district is already used to "playing defense" during legislative session, as Vik put it earlier this year.
- In the 2025 session, the school board actively opposed more than 40 bills, and with the same crop of lawmakers returning to Pierre, it's shaping up to be another defensive battle.
Board members aren't looking for a fight, though. Rather, they want to be a part of the conversation.
- Dawn Marie Johnson noted that all 30 state lawmakers in the Sioux Falls area have been invited to tour local schools or chat with school officials about any questions they might have. She again urged lawmakers to take advantage of that offer.
"Far be it for anybody, any elected person, to make a decision about a place that you’ve never visited," Johnson said.
Board Member Elizabeth Duffy asked Vik directly if it's inevitable that property tax cuts would impact school funding, to which he responded that, no, there's a way to cut property taxes without also hurting schools.
"There is a way to accomplish this," Duffy said. "It’s just doing the work, figuring it out and not placing blame on the schools for simply doing what we’re charged to do."
