by Garrick Moritz, Editor
The Garretson School Board met in regular session on Nov. 9, 2020. This meeting, the main topics of discussion were a vote to return COVID-19 testing kits to the Department of Health, approval of instituting a girls wrestling program, an update on how the pandemic is affecting our school and discussions on winter sports activities.
The board first approved the regular and consent agendas, including the school’s current financial statements and assessments.
Having no old business, the board proceeded directly to new business. First the board acknowledged that Nov. 16-20th was American Education Week, and they took a moment to recognize the importance of education in our community.
On the heels of this, they discussed the Associated School Boards of South Dakota Delegate Assembly, which will be held virtually this year. Many things about this year’s legislative session would not likely be business as usual. Board President Shannon Nordstrom was reappointed as the board’s ASBSD Delegate. Nordstrom reviewed and discuss with the board ASBSD standing positions and drafted legislative resolutions.
From that discussion, the following things should be noted. The ASBSD and our school supports shifting a state funding model of South Dakota Schools to a 2-year, rather than a 1-year model, so that school business managers and boards can have some continuity in budgetary planning. Their jobs are made more difficult when every year they have to wonder what the state legislature is going to do. Also, they want the state legislature and the Governor to follow the law, and increase school funding annually by either two percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. There is reason to be concerned about this, as the state has ignored this law in the past. They also firmly expressed the stance that unfunded mandates not be supported in any way.
Superintendent Guy Johnson also talked about the mandatory testing this school year, and how it might not be feasible at all this year, especially if the school has to switch to an online learning model. They also talked about support for a measure that included a proviso to state law, that if the state ignores the annual budgetary requirement rule, that the schools would not have to comply with mandatory testing requirement.
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