South Dakota’s new fiscal 2013 budget should be positive for local school districts, which are in line to see a 2.3% per-pupil increase as well as a one-time financial increase, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
Lawmakers also approved an amendment to the current budget that gives districts another one-time $8.7 million measure to help offset the 8.6% cut that was passed last year.
The money reflects the state’s improving fiscal position since last year.
“Combined, the supplemental aid provided for fiscal 2012 and the increased funding in fiscal 2013 will help stabilize the financial operations of all school districts,” analyst Megan Burke Roudebush wrote last week in a special commentary in Moody’s weekly credit outlook.
Those districts that made cuts to offset the current year cuts will likely be better off than those who relied on reserves or one-time revenues, according to Roudebush.
“In fiscal 2013, some districts will be in better financial standing than others,” she wrote.
