PARENTS SHARE CONCERNS AT B-H BOARD MEETING

    It was such a full house at the Britton-Hecla Board of Education meeting last Tuesday night that the group changed venues to the choir room for the meeting. A group of around 20 parents and citizens attended the meeting to talk about what they viewed as troubling occurrences at the school. 
    The open forum portion of the meeting where many parents and visitors spoke lasted over an hour. The time started with Board President Troy Knecht reminding the visitors that the board would listen to concerns, but it is not a question and answer period where the board typically responds. He also emphatically asked any speakers not to use student and teacher names when they speak as it may interfere with due process procedures at a later date as well as Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) laws.
    The large parent presence stemmed from what eventually became clear was an incident involving AI-generated nude photographs created by a student/students that depicted other students. 
    Parents had multiple concerns about that issue and other concerning ones that were referred to from the past few months. Some parents said that their children, particularly daughters, do not feel safe in school. “How are we supposed to tell kids to come here and feel safe,” one father said. “School is the last place my daughter feels safe.”
    Others asked why the accused is allowed to still be in school along with the potential victims. “My daughter doesn’t understand why the accused is still in school and she has to see him,” one mother said. She added, “We are not here for a witch hunt but we’re wondering how we move forward with these issues kids are facing today.” She also wondered what resources the school is providing students who feel traumatized. 
    A few parents voiced concerns that certain students were treated differently than others when it comes to punishment. One woman discussed punishments her child had received.  “Not everyone is being treated fairly,” she said. 
    Another mother voiced her worry about a negative culture being created and tolerated within the school. “No one can control another person’s behavior, but we have to have zero tolerance for sexual harassment,” she stressed. She too added her opinion that the accused, whether a faculty member or student, should be removed from the school while matters are investigated. “Please protect your victims,” she implored.
    One parent asked why they cannot be made aware of incidents when they happen, noting that during her time in the Sioux Falls School District, they would receive email notifications when something of concern had happened in the school though student names were never used. Others asked for district policy numbers regarding policies that they could read up on to understand the complaint process. 
    A few community members spoke up for the administration and the board saying they have confidence in the school and reminded the crowd that the board cannot give answers despite the understandable concerns due to the legalities of the situation.
    A good bit of discussion revolved around what the school district could do regarding things that did not take place within the actual school, such as creating explicit photos using a personal computer or phone app. Marshall County Sheriff Sam Swanson said his department is actively investigating matters and working with the school district as the matter may be more of a criminal issue rather than a school one. “If anyone feels that their loved ones have been affected, we want to hear it,” the sheriff explained.
    Marshall County Sergeant Austin Steiner spoke as well. “I’m asking for help,” he explained, noting that he was conducting the investigation in cooperation with the South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation. He made statement forms available to those in attendance and said he plans to conduct interviews with parents and students involved. He reminded the group that, like the school, he cannot tell parents about someone else’s child. 
    Steiner brought up a new law enacted in South Dakota earlier this year that criminalizes the possession of both computer-generated child pornography and sexually explicit “deepfakes,” which are images of real people manipulated into pornography by computer programs. This legislation was folded into a broader update to the state’s child pornography laws, which became law on July 1. Steiner noted that those laws may apply to the matter under investigation.
    At the end of the open forum, a father emphasized to the school board, “We are not going away. We’ll be at future meetings because the general consensus is that things aren’t going so well right now.” 
    After the open forum portion of the meeting, all the parents and most of the visitors left the room. The board went on with their regular agenda. See the story below for other board matters.