Rep. Kadyn Wittman (D-Sioux Falls)
PIERRE, S.D. (SOUTH DAKOTA SEARCHLIGHT) – Families of students who qualify for reduced-price school meals would no longer have to pay a portion of the cost if a bill advancing to its next step in the South Dakota Legislature becomes law.
“The government already plays a role in education,” said Rep. Kadyn Wittman, D-Sioux Falls, who introduced the bill. “When the state mandates education, it takes on a shared responsibility to ensure that students can succeed while they are there.”
The bill would require $601,000 of state funding annually to reimburse schools, according to Grant Judson from the state’s Bureau of Finance and Management. Students whose families meet income qualifications for the reduced-price program currently pay 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch. The rest of the cost is covered by the federal government, which also covers the cost of free meals for students whose families meet stricter income limits.
More than a third of the state’s public school students receive free or reduced-price school meals, according to the South Dakota Department of Education.
The federal government requires that students in the program receive a meal, regardless of whether they have incurred meal debts.
“Even if a child receives a meal, that meal still has to be paid for, the food still must be purchased, the staff must prepare it, and the cost has to come from somewhere,” Wittman told the committee. “Right now, that burden is being covered through a patchwork of local fundraising, philanthropy and the generosity of faith communities and nonprofits.”
Sen. Brandon Wipf, R-Huron, said the cost of the bill seems like “pennies compared to the enormous investment that we make in education.” Other supporters of the bill said students from lower-income families shouldn’t have to worry about meal debt.
The House Education Committee voted 13-1 on Monday at the Capitol in Pierre to send the bill to the House Appropriations Committee for further consideration.
Comments