PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A proposal from South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to send $50 million towards a needs-based scholarship endowment has cleared its first test in the Legislature.
South Dakota is the only state without a significant scholarship endowment for low-income students.
But Noem is trying to create a $200 million fund by combining the state funds with $150 million from private donors.
Lawmakers have an extraordinary amount of one-time funds after the state offset pandemic-related expenses with federal relief money.
The governor’s chief of staff, Tony Venhuizen, describes the scholarship allotment as an “investment” that would benefit the state’s students long into the future.
