SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — In Pierre lawmakers approved a 1.25% increase for K-through-12 education. That’s the amount suggested by former Governor Kristi Noem in the budget she laid out before leaving office.

In Baltic, it is business as usual, teachers are teaching and students are learning. Alex Langner is the boy’s basketball coach and teaches math. Like most teachers, he’s been paying attention to what is going on in Pierre.

“There is obviously some disappointment,” said Langner

The 1.25 percent increase is a long ways away from the 3 percent most were hoping for.However, Langner says teachers understand the reality of the funding situation.

“Its one of those things that being a teacher obviously you understand the role in the world that you are getting into from a financial standpoint, but its also from a level of respect what you are being compensated for it’s important too,” said Langer.

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Baltic Superintendent Eric Bass says the 1.25 percent funding increase from the state puts school districts in an odd predicament.

“We try to increase our teachers pay as much as possible every year, but that money goes straight in to your general fund, and then our general fund has to fund basically all the operations of the school,” said Bass.

He says, like everyone else, schools have to absorb cost increases for everything from energy to supplies, leaving less wiggle room for teacher salaries.

“We are going to do the best that we can to try and help them out and hopefully they can understand that we are in a tough predicament,” said Bass.

A spokesperson for The South Dakota Education Association says they are disappointed in the funding to come out of Pierre and say some schools may have to make cuts to get through these tough financial times.

To give you some perspective, last year, South Dakota lawmakers increased education funding by 4%. 7% in 2023 and 6% in 2022.