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South Dakota Governance of Technical Education Institutes, Constitutional Amendment R (2016)
| South Dakota Amendment R | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic Education | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The South Dakota Governing Technical Education Institutes Amendment, also known as Constitutional Amendment R, was on the November 8, 2016, ballot in South Dakota as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. It was approved.
| A "yes" vote was a vote in favor of allowing the South Dakota Legislature to determine a separate entity, board or procedure to run technical schools and preventing the South Dakota Board of Regents from running such schools. |
| A "no" vote was a vote against allowing the Legislature to provide for such separate governance, leaving some ambiguity regarding the entity in charge of technical schools, which were run by local school boards as of 2016. |
Election results
| Amendment R | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 178,209 | 50.61% | ||
| No | 173,945 | 49.39% | ||
- Election results from South Dakota Secretary of State
Initiative design
The measure was designed to empower the South Dakota Legislature to determine who will govern "postsecondary technical education institutes that offer career and technical associate of applied science degrees and certificates or their successor equivalents and that are funded wholly or in part by the state."[1]
Under the proposed amendment, non-technical public higher education institutions "that may be sustained either wholly or in part by the state and that offer academic or professional degrees of associate of arts, associate of sciences, baccalaureate or greater" shall continue to be governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents.
Prior to Amendment R's approval, the state's technical schools were governed by local school boards. The South Dakota Constitution did not contain language describing to whom the technical schools are responsible.[2] Amendment R guaranteed that postsecondary technical education institutes would be independent from the Board of Regents.[3]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[4]
| “ |
An Amendment to the South Dakota Constitution regarding postsecondary technical education institutes.[5] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article XIV, South Dakota Constitution
Amendment R amended Section 3 of Article XIV of the South Dakota Constitution. The following underlined text was added by the measure's approval:[1]
Attorney general explanation
The Attorney General's ballot explanation was as follows:[6]
| “ | Under the South Dakota Constitution, the Board of Regents is responsible for postsecondary educational institutions funded entirely or in part by the State. Constitutional Amendment R applies to postsecondary technical education institutes that receive state funding and offer career and technical associate of applied science degrees, certificates, or their equivalents. Currently, there are four such institutes: Lake Area Technical Institute, Mitchell Technical Institute, Southeast Technical Institute, and Western Dakota Technical Institute. Under the amendment, postsecondary technical institutes will be governed separately in a manner to be determined by the Legislature.
The amendment also clarifies that the Board of Regents retains control over state-funded postsecondary educational institutions offering associate of arts, associate of sciences, bachelor's, and postgraduate degrees. A vote "Yes" is for adding a provision to the Constitution regarding postsecondary technical educational institutes. A vote "No" will leave the Constitution as it is.[5] |
” |
Support
R for Jobs led the support campaign for Amendment R.[7] Tech Schools for South Dakota filed as the primary sponsor of this measure.[8]
Supporters
R for Jobs listed the following endorsements on its website:[7]
School districts/technical institutes
Professional organizations
Businesses
|
Individuals
- Gov. Dennis Daugaard[9]
- Rep. Mark Mickelson (R-13)[10]
Organizations
Arguments in favor
Greg Von Wald, executive director of the Skilled Workforce Advocacy Council in Rapid City, wrote in a column in the Rapid City Journal:[13]
| “ | Amendment R will, for the first time, put the technical institutes into the state Constitution and clear the way for them to have a voice at the state level as an advocate for skilled-workforce education. Amendment R is supporting workers for jobs and jobs for workers in South Dakota.[5] | ” |
Rep. Mark Mickelson (R-13) said,[10]
| “ | We’re trying to develop a process that’s a little bit more formal. ... In South Dakota, our technical institutes have stayed inside of our local K-12 schools. That’s worked well for a lot of years. When we look around us at other states and what they’ve done to really strengthen their technical institutes, they’ve almost always evolved into being a free-standing set of institutions. The intent of this amendment is to allow the technical institutes to evolve, to put them on an equal footing with other educational institutions in the state — but to clearly define their mission to remain focused on technical schools and workforce development.[5] | ” |
Official argument in favor
The official argument in favor listed in the "South Dakota 2016 Ballot Question Pamphlet" voter guide was as follows:[4]
|
Opposition
- Rep. Elizabeth May (R-27)
Official argument against
The official argument against listed in the "South Dakota 2016 Ballot Question Pamphlet" voter guide was as follows:[4]
|
Media editorials
Opposition
- The Rapid City Journal editorial board wrote the following:[14]
| “ |
While we believe that technical institutes should be removed from the jurisdiction of school districts, we don’t believe their status should be protected or further empowered by the Constitution. The Legislature needs to go back to the drawing board as it has the authority to determine how technical institutes should be managed without making it part of the Constitution. The Journal editorial board recommends a "no" vote on Amendment R.[5] |
” |
Campaign finance
As of February 8, 2017, the support campaign for this measure featured one ballot question committee, Tech Schools for South Dakota, that received a total of $485,750.00 in contributions. The support campaign spent $485,750.00.[15]
No ballot question committees were registered to oppose the amendment.[15]
| Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | $468,600.00 | $17,150.00 | $485,750.00 | $468,600.00 | $485,750.00 |
| Oppose | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $468,600.00 | $17,150.00 | $485,750.00 | $468,600.00 | $485,750.00 |
Support
The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in support of the measure.[15]
| Committees in support of Constitutional Amendment R | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Committee | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures |
| Tech Schools for South Dakota | $468,600.00 | $17,150.00 | $485,750.00 | $468,600.00 | $485,750.00 |
| Total | $468,600.00 | $17,150.00 | $485,750.00 | $468,600.00 | $485,750.00 |
Donors
The following were the top donors to the committee.[15]
| Donor | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Premier Bank | $50,000.00 | $0.00 | $50,000.00 |
| Midcontinent Communications | $50,000.00 | $0.00 | $50,000.00 |
| Forward Sioux Falls | $25,000.00 | $0.00 | $25,000.00 |
| Sanford Health | $25,000.00 | $0.00 | $25,000.00 |
| South Dakota Rural Electric Assc. | $25,000.00 | $0.00 | $25,000.00 |
| Trail King Industries | $25,000.00 | $0.00 | $25,000.00 |
Methodology
To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the South Dakota Constitution
According to the South Dakota Constitution, the state legislature can refer a proposed amendment to the state's voters through a simple majority vote.
On February 17, 2015, the South Dakota House of Representatives approved HJR 1003, with 68 representatives voting "yea" and one voting "nay". The South Dakota Senate took up the amendment on February 26, 2015. All senators voted in support of the amendment. The measure was delivered to the South Dakota Secretary of State on March 4, 2015.[16]
House vote
February 17, 2015, House vote
| South Dakota HJR 1003 House Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 68 | 98.55% | ||
| No | 1 | 1.45% | ||
Senate vote
February 26, 2015, Senate vote
| Utah HJR 1003 Senate Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 34 | 100.00% | ||
| No | 0 | 0.00% | ||
State profile
| Demographic data for South Dakota | ||
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 857,919 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 75,811 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 85% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 1.6% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 8.6% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.6% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 3.3% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 90.9% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $50,957 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 15.3% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in South Dakota. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
South Dakota voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in South Dakota, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[17]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. South Dakota had four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 2.21 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More South Dakota coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in South Dakota
- United States congressional delegations from South Dakota
- Public policy in South Dakota
- Endorsers in South Dakota
- South Dakota fact checks
- More...
Related measures
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms South Dakota Amendment R technical institutes. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- 2016 ballot measures
- South Dakota 2016 ballot measures
- South Dakota Legislature
- Higher education in South Dakota
External links
Support
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 South Dakota Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 1003," accessed March 23, 2015
- ↑ Aberdeen News, "State voters will get to decide who won't run tech institutes," February 27, 2015
- ↑ Argus Leader, "More freedom, independence for tech schools?" March 7, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 South Dakota Secretary of State, "South Dakota 2016 Ballot Question Pamphlet," accessed August 18, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "Attorney General 2016 ballot explanation, Constitutional Amendment R," accessed May 26, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 R for Jobs, "Home," accessed November 6, 2016
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "Campaign Disclosure Statement," accessed May 4, 2016
- ↑ Argus Leader, "Gov.: 'Vote yes on Amendment R, you can vote no on all the others,'" June 28, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan, "Mickelson touts Amendment R," May 10, 2016
- ↑ Mitchell Republic, "MTI hoping voters to support Amendment R," July 12, 2016
- ↑ WNAX, "Yankton School Board Supports Passage of Amendment 'R,'" accessed August 25, 2016
- ↑ Rapid City Journal, "Yours: Amendment R boosts tech schools," April 10, 2016
- ↑ Rapid City Journal, "OURS: Amendments for victims, schools unnecessary," October 9, 2016
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 South Dakota Secretary of State, "Campaign Disclosure Statement," accessed October 28, 2016
- ↑ Utah Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 1003 Actions," accessed March 23, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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