Bill to align school bond votes with primary and general elections passes committee

Rep. Aaron Aylward, R-Harrisburg, speaks to the state House Local Government Committee on Feb. 6, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota)

PIERRE – In an effort to increase voter turnout and engagement, lawmakers on the House Local Government Committee passed a bill that would require bond votes for school districts be held the same day as primary or general elections in South Dakota.

The bill passed with a 9-3 vote and now goes to the House of Representatives.

The committee tied 6-6 several times on votes to reject or approve a similar bill that would align school board elections with primary or general elections, finally deferring the bill until its next meeting when the 13th member of the committee will be present.

Opponents argued that the bills erode local control for school districts.

School districts issue bonds to raise financing, typically for construction projects. The bond bill would decrease a district’s flexibility in introducing bond votes in a timely manner or amending and reintroducing them after a failed vote, opponents said.

The other bill would move school board elections to the middle of summer, while contracts are being negotiated, or after the start of the school year, which could make it difficult for new members to adjust to their role, argued Jessica Filler, director of policy and legal services for the Associated School Boards of South Dakota.

“School boards know when the election will be the best fit for them,” Filler said.

Rep. Aaron Aylward, R-Harrisburg, speaks to the state House Local Government Committee on Feb. 6, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota)

Prime sponsor Rep. Aaron Aylward, R-Harrisburg, conceded that the switch would erode local control slightly, but said the potential of engaging voters and saving money would be worth it. The Legislative Research Council estimates that aligning bond votes and board elections with primary or general elections would save school districts about $120,000 every two years.

Most school board elections are held in April and often result in low voter turnout. The Sioux Falls School District, for example, had just over 6% voter turnout in 2023 . It reported 5.13% turnout in 2021 and 3.86% in 2019.

The same is true for some bond elections. The Harrisburg School District passed $90 million in bonds in 2021 and 2022 between two votes, both of which had voter turnout of 5% or less. But Filler countered that two schools saw more than 50% voter turnout last year for bond elections.

Rep. Will Mortenson, R-Fort Pierre, introduced a similar bill in 2022 that would have aligned school district and municipal elections with primary and general elections. The bill passed the House but failed in the Senate.

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