B-H BOARD OKs BIG POLICY CHANGE, HEARS CONCERNS

    Much of the time at Monday night’s Britton-Hecla Board of Education meeting was spent discussing policies and policy adoption. At issue was whether or not to adopt around 200 new policies and therefore retire the school’s old policies. The public and board members had a lot to say on the matter. 
    The new policies were put forth by KSB, a school law firm with offices in Nebraska and Sioux Falls, that B-H had commissioned for the purpose. KSB is also the school’s counsel and would represent them should any of those policies be challenged. A three-person policy review committee made up of board members was tasked with looking over the policies. Some of the policies have optional language and different choices that the school can make and tailor to their situations. KSB has provided the same service for many other South Dakota schools. It was noted at the meeting that KSB will provide suggested updates to policies based on new state legislation.
    Literature provided at the meeting noted that the KSB service was invested in by the board to reduce risk to the district and “set guardrails to ensure the district operates within the law.” The handout further added, “the legal recommendation was to adopt all of the policies at once to ensure the comprehensive coverage of all of our legal obligations.” 
    Several members of the public spoke regarding the policy adoption. Sandra Gresh questioned whether using the KSB law firm was the right avenue. She noted that in the past boards had made policies under the direction of the superintendent. “Going forward, I would like to see the current policies kept in place and if they are deficient, handled one at a time,” said Gresh. 
    Kevin Koop posited, “There is often a sense that Midwest values get encroached upon by coastal values being pushed inward” when it comes to policy making. He expressed concern that something from an outside source might not reflect local values. 
    B-H teacher Jen Boyko spoke briefly on the policy adoption. “Who better to seek advice and take council from than a school law firm?,” she wondered. She also was comforted “knowing that [if the new policies were adopted] the board can make adjustments.”
    Policy Review Committee Member Audrey Schuller was opposed to adopting the new policies at this time. She repeatedly asked why there is a rush to adopt all the new policies. In her opinion, the policies had not been studied enough and compared to what the current policies are. She emphasized that she felt more time was required to look things over and possibly adopt the policies in the future. “Why can’t we continue the process of looking them over, keeping the current ones in place as we work the bugs out?” she asked.
    She took exception to the new policy where only one reading is required before a policy is adopted rather than the previous policy of two readings. She also flagged the part of the new policy that reads “A majority of the board constitutes a quorum…” which she interpreted to mean that a quorum would be comprised of four board members rather than the previously agreed upon five members. 
    Schuller questioned if overall KSB was the right service to go with for the new policies. She reminded the group that the Associated School Boards of South Dakota offered free policies. She also questioned if KSB had gotten to know the school enough before the process began. “We don’t want our values coming from somewhere else,” Schuller stated.  She was concerned whether the old school policies had even been reviewed and if the new policies were adequately replacing what was being lost. 
    Superintendent Steve Benson explained that from his view, the new policies were necessary as KSB had warned the school that the old policies were in some cases no longer legally defensible though he did not offer specifics as to which policies were problematic. He added that some of the policies date back to the seventies and eighties. “We want to start the year being legally compliant,” he stressed.
    Heather Landreth, also on the policy committee, emphasized that after adoption, the board can go back and work on policies. “I’ve read every word of every policy, and I do indeed have a list of things we need to circle back to, but I still recommend following the advice of counsel that the board voted to invest in. We’re not locked in with these policies and we’re not losing control.” 
    Angela Grupe, the third committee member, added that she too had read all the new policies. She felt that the policies give administrators support and make sure the district is following the law. “I feel comfortable approving them.” 
    Board President Troy Knecht wrapped up the discussion. “It’s the right thing to do to pass the policies tonight,” he said. “I’m not concerned one bit. It’s the right thing for the school, the administration and the public. We paid good money for this service, and I think we should go ahead and adopt them. We need something in place right now.”
    In the end, the board voted to pass the 197 new policies. The vote was four in favor (Landreth, Knecht, Grupe and Josh Hawkinson) and one against (Schuller). Board members Kurt Zuehlke and Kelli Erickson were not present at the meeting. 
    Policies can be viewed on the school website at https://www.britton.k12.sd.us/documents/board-of-education/board-policies/194150.