PIERRE | Gov. Kristi Noem’s proposal to put $50 million toward a need-based scholarship endowment cleared its first test in the Legislature on Monday.
South Dakota is the only state without a significant scholarship endowment for low-income students. Noem wants to create a $200 million fund by combining the state money with $150 million from private donors. Lawmakers have an extraordinary amount of one-time funds after the state used federal coronavirus relief funding to cover the state’s pandemic-related expenses.