MITCHELL - South Dakota ranks last in the nation in state funding for K-12 education, paying out $2,805 per student for the 2004-05 school year, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report.

The report says the federal government paid $1,415 per South Dakota student, which was fifth highest, and that local property taxes averaged $4,184, or 24th in the nation, for a total of $7,197 per student.

The $7,197 figure is 41st in the nation. The U.S. average is $8,701 per student.

The Census Bureau numbers, according to the Associated School Boards of South Dakota, support the main contention in a South Dakota Coalition of Schools lawsuit filed by more than 40 percent of the state's 167 school districts. The lawsuit says state funding is at least $100 million to $130 million behind where it should be.

South Dakota school districts are cutting programs, having trouble finding and keeping teachers and are forced to seek more support from local property taxpayers, said Wayne Lueders, ASBSD executive director.

South Dakota's education secretary, Rick Melmer, on Wednesday cited a National Education Association report for 2005-2006 "that has us ranked in different positions in the state based on federal, state and local contributions to education."

"We have declining student enrollment, so we are funding fewer kids, so if Wayne Lueders is talking about the per-pupil allocation, he's clearly not correct. Every year the Legislature adds things on top of the formula that are probably not included in his calculations."

The Census Bureau report is accurate and contains no surprises, said Linda Whitney, who is the superintendent and fill-in high school principal and school counselor at Sanborn Central.

"We know the state is not putting in as much money. It's falling on the local taxpayers and federal government," she said.

"I agree with the statistics completely. We're falling further and further behind."

She said school officials would like to talk with Gov. Mike Rounds about the problem. "We'd like to have what happened in North Dakota, where the governor stepped up to the plate and said 'Let's get this solved."'