Britton-Hecla School District voters will go to the polls on Tuesday to select three board members from among five candidates.
Running for three-year positions are incumbents Nick Fosness and Ryan Furman and challengers Kelli Erickson, Angela Grupe and Heather Landreth.
All Marshall County residents will vote in the Britton-Hecla School Office (use door 15) while Brown County residents will vote at the Hecla Community Center. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Candidates responded to a series of questions provided by the Journal and their responses follow.
Please describe your personal background (family, work, etc.)
Nick Fosness: Jenny and I have been married for 26 years and grew up in Tripp, SD (pop. 800). We have four children: Sydney, Ashley, Cole, and Graham. Three of our four children have graduated from BHHS, and our youngest will be a freshman in the fall. I have served on the BHHS Board of Ed for the last nine years and have chaired the board for the last six years. I also currently serve on the State Hospital Association Board of Directors and the Foundation for Medical Care Board of Directors and am on Executive Committees of both boards. I have been the CEO of Marshall County Healthcare Center Avera for the last 11+ years. Prior to our move to Britton, I was in administration at St Mary’s Hospital in Pierre for eight years and four years with Good Samaritan Society.
Ryan Furman: I was born and raised in Britton. My wife, Kari, and I have two children. Chloe, 19, is a student at USD. Connor, 16, will be a junior at Britton-Hecla. I own and operate Dakota Ag Service.
Kelli Erickson: My husband, Casey, and I have lived in Britton for 11 years and have three children: Sophia (7), Abby (6), and Madison (3). I am the Marketing and Finance Manager for Full Circle Ag and have been there for over 8 years. I have previously been on the Britton Area Chamber of Commerce and am a Sunday school teacher at First Lutheran Church.
Angela Grupe: I grew up in Britton and attended Britton High School. I received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from SDSU and a Bachelor’s degree in Professional Accountancy from NSU. I married Craig Grupe and live on a farm south of town with our 13-year-old daughter, Jaelee. I run my own business, Grupe Tax & Business Solutions, and am the Head Gymnastics Coach for BHHS. I currently hold board positions for the Britton Country Club and Britton Baseball & Softball. I am involved in many youth activities throughout the community.
Heather Landreth: I am married to Lucas Landreth, son of Sara (Kent) Holland and Thomas Landreth. Luke and I have two kids: Layla, who just finished 1st grade, and Logan, who will be in kindergarten next year. We live straight east of Hecla in the sandhills (Dayton Township). They (my kids, not the sandhills) are the best thing about my life, and I am grateful to be raising them in this community. I am a transplant, although I have lived in the Britton-Hecla area for almost 15 years. I grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, and I graduated from Auburn University, where I competed as a swimmer and got a true Liberal Arts education. Despite not growing up here, it didn’t take too much time to set down roots. I actually remember the moment when I saw Britton coming around the curve on Highway 10 from the east and thought “this feels like home”. I am an educator at heart, with a background as a high school teacher, a coach, and a provider of Applied Behavior Analysis (which is a science used to help improve the quality of life for individuals with autism, among other purposes). Currently I am a healthcare compliance and privacy professional for Ivy Rehab for Kids, a national company that provides Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and ABA to kids. I value order and truth, but also love and joy - as a professional, I am at my best when I am doing the “boring stuff” so that healthcare providers or educators can do what THEY are passionate about with a little less to worry about.
What is your reason for running for the board?
Fosness: Oversight of student achievement is a well-known best practice of a high-functioning school board. As a school board member, my primary goal is to offer the best opportunity for each student to achieve his/her goals after graduation-be it college, workforce, military, etc. I understand the role of being a board member, and have no personal agenda, other than what is stated above. We moved to Britton for the opportunity for our children to be raised in a small town. Britton is a vibrant community with an excellent school. I am very proud of BHHS’s accomplishments, and I have the experience and commitment to continue serving on this board. It takes support, encouragement, common sense, and the ability to oversee the financial and regulatory facets of schools for us to be effective as a board. Metrics of this district show we are doing excellent academically while staffing is solid in comparison to other districts across the state. The physical environment is also much improved from when we first toured this school 11 years ago. Balancing tax efforts and state and federal effort is not easy, and this district is doing well.
Erickson: Effective school boards are critical components in school systems that continuously provide high-quality education. I would love to be a part of a team that works collaboratively to improve the environment for our students and staff. The end goal should be to create a shared vision for the district, understand student and staff needs, create, and carry out solutions, and hold the system accountable to high and reasonable standards for all students and staff. I believe it’s important to not only have a voice for parents, but an advocate for teachers and students as well.
Furman: As a father of both a recent graduate and a student attending BHHS, a solid education system for the children in our community is important to me. I have gained valuable experience as a school board member. I want to use my experience to help make good decisions to ensure a quality education for the youth in our school district.
Grupe: I’ve always been interested in the process and feel this is another way I can give back to my school, community, and the students. I would like the opportunity to work collaboratively to create a vision and goals for the district, provide the best opportunities for our students, an excellent working environment that supports our school staff, a strong voice to keep our small-town school charm alive in a rapidly changing world, and the assurance that our students’ safety and best interests are always the ultimate focus. One of my philosophies in life is that no matter how long we’ve been at something, we can always learn more and do better.
Landreth: Is peer pressure an acceptable answer here? Seriously though, so much can be learned by active listening, and once I put it out there that this would be something I would consider, many people approached me with encouragement. I love to serve and was raised by parents who modeled giving back to the communities you are a part of. I believe serving on the school board would allow me to use my weirdly specific skill set - particularly when it comes to policy development and management - to help improve our district and the future of our children. While there are many veteran teachers in our district, there are many teachers who are in their first 5 years as well. I remember well the challenges of those first years, and would approach issues from that perspective (in addition to that of a parent). It’s critical that our teachers feel supported and empowered. Layla’s teacher this past school year, Billie Treeby, had such a positive impact on her - not just academically, but also socially. I saw so much growth and am grateful. I would love nothing better than to find ways to lift up teachers like her and help them thrive.
What do you feel is the number one challenge facing the school district and how would you propose to deal with it?
Fosness: There are targets on schools nationwide from numerous special interest groups. School board meetings across the country have been hijacked by flavor-of-the day issues that conflict with the bigger picture of education provided to our children. I believe we have done well as a school board by focusing our efforts on student achievement. Many schools closed during Covid. Our school stayed open. Many districts around us are unable to find and retain teachers. We remain fully staffed and have candidates for replacement positions. Our enrollment is strong and the improvements to the buildings and grounds, including air quality in the buildings, has been greatly improved. Our students are receiving a high level of education from a great teaching and support staff. I am proud of this school. If elected again, I will continue to advocate and oversee excellent education to our children.
Furman: I believe the biggest challenge is always state funding. We need to be able to meet the needs in all the different areas of the school’s budget. Our number one goal is to make sure the educational needs of all our students are met. Our students need to be prepared for the next step in their lives whether it be furthering their education or entering the workforce.
Erickson: I feel the biggest challenge facing the school district right now is staffing shortages. Although this issue is felt across many industries, it’s extremely important to encourage a solution to ensure we have high-quality, adequate education for our children. Teachers are leaving the field in massive quantities and if a solution is not provided, this will continue to happen locally. We currently have multiple openings for teaching and coaching positions, and we have been extremely fortunate to be able to fill the positions in the past, but it’s getting more difficult each year. Our school is excellent, and I would hate to see the staff numbers continue to decline due to the inability to fill open positions. If we want enrollment to continue to increase, staffing needs to follow suit.
Grupe: It’s a tricky environment out there right now, not just in the education sector but all industries have experienced major employment shifts and challenges across the nation with staff shortages. It’s going to take strong, dedicated people to get creative and battle this shift, especially in our rural area. We may just have to rethink how we do some things. Retention of our current educators is the easiest solution to avoiding vacancies. Recruitment, backed with strong support and mentorship for our young professionals entering the workforce, is a must. I believe a strong budget, along with follow-through and accountability at all levels, is extremely important to retain and develop the best learning and working environment possible. We need to keep our district competitive and attractive to draw future teachers, coaches, and all staff, which also helps with retention. After all, the people surrounding our children play the most important roles for their futures and that’s why keeping and finding staff is the number one priority.
Landreth: My children are very young, and I will not pretend to have a comprehensive understanding of the challenges this district faces. It might be a bit idealistic, but so far I have been focused on the good. My daughter has had two phenomenal teachers so far and a positive school experience. I am generally an optimist and choose to focus on gratitude. I do know that the issues facing children and schools these days are challenging and murky. While some things have not changed (I definitely remember being bullied for my appearance and for being kind to the kids who weren’t “cool”), I don’t remember feeling unsafe. Even as I was getting my teaching certificate, which was (somewhat) more recent, I believe we were still under the mirage that a school was an inherently safe space. Britton-Hecla might feel somewhat insulated from contemporary issues, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be having conversations now about our vision for the future of our district. It is no small feat to find the right balance between being inclusive without unduly influencing private beliefs, of hearing all the voices of our district and making the right choices. But it all starts with dialogue, with an acknowledgement that there is not always just one “right” answer. My approach is to always gather facts and then facilitate dialogue, challenging those around me to expand their view before making a snap decision.
List one other issue you would consider a priority for the district and what you think should be done about it?
Fosness: As stated above, I have no personal agenda, therefore I do not have a priority issue beyond student achievement. Running for school board with “priority issues” could be dangerous. As a school board member, we are elected to oversee policy, administration, and support the district with strategies that enhance academic achievement.
Erickson: Whether we are encouraging families to move to the area or encouraging current staff to stay and thrive, we need to continue to have superior education and updated technology and capitalize on our community involvement. We have phenomenal teachers in our school, and we need to ensure they feel valued and want to continue educating our youth. I think we need to encourage collaboration between the board, community, students, and staff to ensure all stakeholders have an opportunity to be active in ensuring every aspect of our children’s education continues to succeed. Simply being an advocate for students, parents, and teachers, I believe we need to do our best to create an inviting, positive environment that encourages teachers to want to teach and students to want to learn in the Britton-Hecla school district.
Furman: Another concern would be that there are fewer college students entering the field of education, so keeping a full, highly-qualified staff is becoming more difficult every year. We are lucky to have a great staff and want to keep our standards high. It’s not only teachers we need. There are many positions needed to keep a school running effectively.
Grupe: I know funding is one of the biggest issues facing school districts. We need a responsible and balanced approach to budgeting to aid in the current well-being of our school district and the future years to come. I believe advancements in the short term and long-term financial health of the district go hand in hand. With my background in budgeting and forecasting, I would like the opportunity to learn more about our school’s budget and use my experience to do everything we can with the state funds received.
Landreth: Honestly, I’m not a politician, and I am not throwing my name in the hat with any particular platform in mind. The more relevant information for you to know is how I approach issues. My role at work for many years has been some form or another of risk-based prioritization and policy management. I’m an information junkie, and not a fan of inefficiency; as such, I have developed into someone who wants all the facts in front of me. This serves me well in the compliance space, as a large part of my team’s job is to thoroughly research the potential risks and value of an operational action and advise on the best course of action. I love to get into the weeds on an issue, and naturally think many steps ahead to multiple possible outcomes. This might sound a bit chaotic, but it’s actually very systematic. I always joke that I have been working from home since “before it was a thing” (aka pre-COVID), and in my personal/family life I am not naturally very organized. To be successful, I have developed tools and systems for myself that allow me to manage complex issues without running round in circles. Further, I am always focused on making that information useful to others; I am rarely the sole decision-maker, and it’s important to me to empower those around me to make risk-based decisions also. If chosen to serve on school board, you could count on me to objectively assess risk, prioritize based on the greatest need, thoroughly research all solutions, share information with relevant stakeholders in an accessible manner, and empower those around me to consider issues from the point of view of each of our children and stakeholders, even if that leads to challenging dialogue.
What do you think is Britton-Hecla’s biggest asset and how can it be used to the school’s advantage?
Fosness: People! We quickly think of the teachers. We are fortunate to have an excellent teaching faculty. The school also has many behind the scenes people who also make it happen: janitors, aides, teachers, office staff, volunteers, bus drivers, coaches, cooks, administrators, dishwashers, and even the retired teachers who still come back and give of their talents as subs! Over the last nine years, I have heard countless stories of teachers/coaches/support staff/administration going above and beyond to assist our students. Many of these stories are heartwarming. Compassion, excellence, gracefulness, selflessness, intelligence-all of these describe our amazing school staff. If elected, I will continue to support this district and its most important asset to ensure we are focused on student achievement.
Furman: I think our biggest asset is our staff. We have people that go over and above their duties to make the students a priority. This, along with the great parent involvement and community support, makes me proud to be a part of the Britton-Hecla School!
Erickson: I would put our community support and school spirit up against any other town in the state. Not very often do you find empty stands at sporting events, music programs, school plays, etc. Between our small-town support and outstanding teaching staff, the Britton-Hecla school district is second to none and we can use this to our advantage to continue to maintain our top-notch educational environment.
Grupe: As a proud former Brave and now a proud Brave Mom, I feel we have several assets that set our school district above others. We have fantastic, experienced staff, some of the best Class B facilities in the state and live in a generous community that pours support and pride into our students and our school district. When I think about where the success of a student comes from, I know that it’s the support from the people: their teachers, directors, and coaches. The memories and accomplishments a student walks away with from high school include those from the people surrounding them and the experiences provided to them. That’s where a rural school thrives and continues to produce high quality young adults.
Landreth: This one was an easy one for me - culture. I am continually impressed with our community, which offers so much for a relatively small population. It’s not just the activities available for families or the lovely businesses; I have seen this community band together time and time again to support individuals and causes. Residents of the Britton-Hecla district are generous with their time and money, with a goal of improving the community. Most of the time, those efforts are focused on a better future for our children. When you are in compliance, most people are not necessarily happy when they see you coming; quite often you are the bearer of bad news or are providing education on really dry topics (HIPAA, anyone?). So we leverage culture - shared mission, vision, and values - to help people see the “why” before asking them to do the “what”. Because of this background, I am always going to be the person in the room asking the questions like “how does this help us reach our goals?”; “how will this help improve the education we are providing our children?”; “are we adequately empowering our teachers to excel?”; and, ultimately, “what is our vision here?”. Most people want to do the right thing in a very general sense, but a clear mission-driven culture can help take the guesswork out of decision-making. This district is small but mighty, and a united culture can drive a bright future for our children.
