Board member warns voucher and property‑tax bills still active as session moves forward

Board member Tim Van Berkum gave the Huron board a legislative update on bills filed in the South Dakota Legislature that could affect local school districts.

Van Berkum listed House bills and Senate bills touching property‑tax valuation limits, changes to bond and school‑board election timing, proposals to make school‑board elections partisan, and multiple voucher proposals. He noted some earlier voucher bills were defeated in House Education but newer measures — including Senate Bill 190 (a voucher bill he identified by number) — were scheduled for hearings and remain in play. “Vouchers are still definitely there,” he said.

He also highlighted bills proposing valuation caps or exemptions for owner‑occupied dwellings and bills that would alter how capital‑outlay certificates and bond elections are scheduled. Van Berkum warned that several proposals to restrict the Associated School Boards of South Dakota’s (ASBSD) advocacy — barring certain lobbying expenditures — would reduce ASBSD’s current activities if adopted.

Van Berkum concluded by noting some measures had passed their initial house committees and would move to the Senate for further consideration; he invited questions but none were raised at the meeting.