All of sudden, Mikey becomes Mr. Glass half empty;
PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Mike Rounds says next year will bring the “worst budget scenario that we have seen,” and he doubts there will be much of an increase in state funding of schools.
But Bill Thompson is ready to set him straight,
Democratic state Rep. Bill Thompson of Sioux Falls, who is on the House education committee, said education is an investment.
“In the House, there are too many people who see education as an expense, and that’s the basic philosophical difference,” he said.
It would make no sense for Rounds to cut education even if the budget is tight, according to Thompson, a retired teacher.
“My question to the governor would be, ‘Is education your No. 1 priority?’ It should be, in terms of economic development and in terms of how much of the state budget that goes toward education,” he said. “Education is not frosting; it’s absolutely crucial and should be the last area for where we look in terms of cuts.”
I’m gonna say it, it is time for the minority Democrats to grow a sack and go after this Governor like pitbulls, without lipstick. Bill has a good start, and he is respected enough to take the bull by the horns.
