This year's Legislative session officially ended without restoring a $3 million program that would provide laptops to dozens of South Dakota school districts. Now, students hoping for those high-tech tools are stuck playing the waiting game.

The laptops are similar to those that students in the Watertown School District have been using for about 5 years. Governor Mike Rounds had a plan to provide another 20 districts with laptop computers.  But late in the session, lawmakers cut it. That means 5,000 students who might have had these high-tech tools come fall, will now be going without.

The Baltic School District is just one local district that had applied to be part of the laptop program. Superintendent Robert Sittig tells me it would've cost his district about $200,000 and the State would've kicked in another $100,000. But without the State's help, Sittig says the district alone can't make the laptops a reality. Some lawmakers say the Governor told them to cut costs, and this cut is a result of that request. 

I spoke with Rounds' Press Secretary, Mitch Krebs today. He says the Governor will still fight for the program to be restored, but it's unclear if it can happen before next year's session.