Horace Mann once said, “Education…is the great equalizer—the balance-wheel of social machinery.” He reminded us that nothing shapes opportunity, strengthens democracy, or fuels progress more than a strong public education system.

Here in South Dakota, we talk often about investing in the future—pipelines, data centers, power infrastructure, and other important projects. But our real future is sitting in classrooms across this state. Our children deserve the same commitment, the same focus, and the same belief in their potential.

Last week, the Governor released his proposed budget, and it offered no increase for K-12 education—actually a decrease of $12.8 million compared to last year. With inflation pushing school costs higher, flat funding amounts to a cut. And unlike many other priorities, education funding is required by law to keep up with inflation. Here is the statute that requires an increase in funding for education:  What that section says is: “Index factor,” is the annual percentage change in the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers as computed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor for the year before the year immediately preceding the year of adjustment or three percent, whichever is less.