Sioux Falls, SD (KELO-AM) Sioux Falls Schools Superintendent Dr. Brian Maher hopes Governor Daugaard vetoes the so-called school choice bill.
The bill would give tax credits to insurance companies that contribute to scholarships for low-income children to attend private schools in South Dakota.
Maher made a distinction between a 'common good' and a 'consumer good' to explain his opposition to the bill, during a wide-ranging discussion on Thursday's Greg Belfrage Show on KELO Radio.
"When you mix what is a common good with a consumer good that there will be an erosion, and I think in this case, an erosion of public education." said Dr. Maher.
Despite his opposition to the school choice bill, Maher had nothing but great things to say about private schools in South Dakota. In fact, he told Greg Belfrage that if there had been a Catholic school in his small community when he was growing up, his parents would have sent him there.
This bill is one of the last that Daugaard has on his desk from the 2016 State Legislature. He asked the State Supreme Court for an advisory opinion on the legislation's constitutionality, but the court declined to get involved.