An initiative that supporters say would put an end to coziness between elected officials and those who receive government contracts has Rapid City school board members worried that it would hamper support for education.

Attorney General Larry Long's ballot explanation says Initiated Measure 10 would prohibit state and local governments and their officers and employees, as well as independent contractors and consultants, from using government resources for campaigning or lobbying. It contains exceptions to allow those officials to communicate with legislative and public bodies.

It also would bar people who hire legislators from getting government contacts and bar holders of no-bid contracts and their families from contributing to candidate campaigns.

Rapid City school board member Doug Kinniburgh recently asked the board to draft a resolution against the measure. Members agreed and will consider it Oct. 30 at a 5:30 p.m. special meeting in the Central High School library.

Board member Wes Storm said the ballot measure would be detrimental to any board, and especially for educational boards.

Members drive to Pierre several times during the legislative session to speak to lawmakers about education, and expenses are paid with district funds - taxpayer money - which Storm believes would violate the proposed law.

The measure's proponents say it would stop the use of taxpayer dollars for lobbying and political campaigns and stop politicians from spending tax dollars to funnel money to government employee union officials who, they say, spend their funds lobbying against South Dakota values. They also say the measure mirrors the Open and Clean Government Act and would clean up corruption in the political process.

Storm made three trips to Pierre last session on behalf of the district.

"I'm not a lobbyist," he said.

Storm said there is little public investment in what goes on in schools most of the time and the face-to-face time with legislators is crucial.

"I believe we'd be in much worse shape than what we are without communication and getting the word out to the people that affect us the most in Pierre," he said. "It would really hurt education the most of anything."

Opponents have called the ballot measure a mess and say out-of-state groups would have fewer restrictions and, in turn, more power to influence elections and laws.

"It helps them and gags us," Karl Adam and Jack Billion wrote in the "con" section of the ballot explanation, which is compiled for each state election by the Office of Secretary of State.

Adam is chairman of the state Republican Party, and Billion is chairman of the state Democratic Party.

Dusty Johnson, public utilities commissioner and member of Conservatives Against Initiative 10, said the measure ties the hands of local governments and provides legislators with less information on which to base decisions.

He said one of the provisions in the measure would silence people who would normally be part of the political process. For example, he said, if the county pays a person to mow the lawn at the county courthouse, and his neighbor of 40 years runs for county commission, it would be illegal for the courthouse lawn cutter to give $15 dollars to the neighbor's campaign, to loan the candidate a car to appear in a Fourth of July parade or give a plate of cookies for an open house to meet the candidate. Each of those acts would be seen as a government contractor contributing to the campaign of someone who could ultimately approve the contract and payment.

"It restricts people's ability to participate in the political process," he said.

Rapid City resident John Murphy disagrees. He already has voted in support of the measure.

"It's obviously an anti-corruption initiative," he said. "The state of South Dakota is being run as an oligarchy; it's not being run as a democracy."

Murphy said some politicians in the state who own companies have far too much influence in the political process because of their money, and Initiative 10 would help control that.

"The people in financial power are controlling the political power, and we need to open that up," he said.

The other aspect of the measure he supports is the requirement for a Web site that would detail state contracts. Contracts are currently available online, he said, but the site isn't user friendly and isn't detailed.

"Initiative 10 is trying to create a Web site available to the public that will shed some light on the financial transactions that are taking place," he said.

Both sides of the issue have claimed that the other side is not disclosing where its campaign financial backing is coming from. Murphy said that is frustrating.

"I don't like things being done behind closed doors in the dark of night."

A recent poll by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research of Washington, D.C., showed that South Dakotans are split on the measure.

The survey found that 31 percent supported Initiated Measure 10, 43 percent opposed the proposal, and 26 percent were undecided.

Less than one-fourth of Democrats and about one-third of Republicans respondents said they would vote for it, but 47 percent of independents supported it.

Contact Kayla Gahagan at 493-8410 or kayla.gahagan@rapidcityjournal.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.