SD Senate leader suggests needs-based scholarship

• Russell Olson

Russell Olson

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PIERRE — Senate Republican Leader Russell Olson of Wentworth said Friday he will propose a new state scholarship program that would award money based on students’ financial needs, noting that South Dakota is the only state without one.

The senator said he has not yet worked out the details of the proposal, including how many students might get scholarships.

But he said students at universities and technical institutes would be eligible for the financial help.

The endowment fund for the scholarship program would initially be set up with extra, onetime money from the state budget, with an ongoing appropriation in future years to support the program, Olson said. The schools, through alumni associations or other organizations, would raise money to match the state funding, he said.

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