At Monday’s Britton-Hecla School Board meeting, a sizable group of parents and teachers were in attendance.
In open forum, parent Holly Dinger spoke about a concern with an elementary student in the same class as her own child. She read a letter she had sent to the parents in her child’s class. The letter raised concerns about a student accused of bullying. According to Dinger, a bullying incident had not been properly addressed. She also said she had talked to both Elementary Principal Kyla Richter and emailed Superintendent Steve Benson about her concerns. She noted that she had also spoken to Marshall County Sheriff Sam Swanson about the matter who had told her he does not perceive a serious threat.
A chief concern of Dinger’s was that the district’s current bullying policy is inadequate and may not have been followed regarding if parents should have been contacted if bullying did take place. She compared B-H’s policy (which is posted on the district’s website) to the significantly longer policies from other nearby districts. Dinger noted she was most interested in “protecting our kids’ rights and our rights as parents.”
BJ Richter spoke next. He asked that the board consider the matter of policymaking. “I don’t think we should take the power away from the people who are in the building, who have been given the duty to protect our children. We should empower the people who are in the position to make those decisions.”
Teacher Jenna Peters spoke as well. She noted, “Often things that are said about what happens in classrooms are not always factual. That is hard on those of us doing our jobs and causes problems in the community and the school.” Peters added, “We need to be very careful calling people ‘bullies’ and making accusations. I am standing up for a kid who has been called a bully that I don’t believe is a bully.”
Sheriff Swanson said he has trust in the school administrators. “I trust their decisions and think they know how to handle it,” he said. He also invited the board, district and others to keep an open dialog on the matter of bullying in general.
Parent Michelle Peters also spoke. She said she feels that her own concerns have been met with compassion and open ears by school officials. She also expressed the desire to find a space to talk about concerns that parents have regarding what happens in classrooms, especially when it comes to issues other than bullying. “We want to help students of all needs while advocating for our children but it’s hard not knowing how to discuss problems.”
School Board President Troy Knecht spoke last. He thanked everyone for attending the meeting and sharing concerns. He said, “As a board, we have the full confidence in our administration and staff and how this matter has been handled.” He also noted that the bullying policy the district uses is the newest one from the Associated School Boards of South Dakota and it follows all state requirements. He added that the board is in the process of reviewing all district policies and plan to review the bullying policy sooner rather than later.
In regular agenda business at Monday’s Britton-Hecla School Board Meeting, the group approved working agreements and contracts. They approved an agreement to hire a new band director. Justin Desens has been hired and will start in January. In addition to his salary for the remaining part of the year, he was given $3,500 in moving expenses which Superintendent Steve Benson noted was necessary to hire him.
In other staff matters, Tracy Kanizar was hired as a paraeducator. Amber Key was hired as a certified teacher at the Westwood Colony. She was previously a paraeducator there.
The school calendar was discussed. Due to a mistake counting teacher contract hours involving early out days, the current calendar is short two teacher days. Benson noted that he presented the board with various options, including requiring extra days at the end of the year, summer hours or forgiving the two days. The board decided to forgive the days.
A few policy updates were approved, including adding food service to the district’s nondiscrimination policy. They also adopted a three year review for food service.
In his Superintendent’s Report, Benson discussed flex learning days that the district plans to use again this winter in the event that school is called off due to weather. “We all know that they are not a replacement for in person learning, but we’re finding that most think it’s better to have something in front of students on these days than nothing,” he said. He noted that the district intends to send out a parent survey regarding flex learning days in the near future to get input. Benson also added that the Secretary of Education has noted that you can’t merely send home packets and count that as a school day so other steps are being taken, including offering wi-fi hotspots to families.
Benson talked about the school’s electricity bill, which he noted has been much higher this school year. Business Manager Kayla Hastings said the bill was $1,500-2,000 higher each of the last few months than in previous years. The superintendent had spoken to officials at Ottertail who explained that the new HVAC system is the reason. He added that they may have to budget more towards that area in the future.
School counselor Sheila Anderson spoke about the school’s ‘report card,’ essentially their test scores. Check next week’s paper for a more in-depth look at that.
Following an executive session, some language changes were approved regarding how workman’s comp will be addressed.
The next board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 6:30 p.m. Note the day and time change.
