HHS to begin renovations Huron Plainsman March 25, 2009 By: Louise Van Poll An architect with the Koch Hazard firm presented the revised plan for the high school renovations at the Huron School Board meeting Monday. The project includes remodeling the old wrestling room and all locker rooms, expanding the hall leading to the gym and adding restrooms, changes in the kitchen and serving area, remodeling the theater including new seating, replacing the tall student lockers with individual half-length lockers and building a separate maintenance shop. The total cost is estimated at $2,371,000. Kyle Raph said that if the board begins the process now, the project would be completed before school starts again in August. “Bidding is very competitive right now,” Raph told the board, saying that where before there might be three or four bids on a project, now he is seeing 10 or 11. “This is a good time to get bids,” he said. “The price of gas is down and the price of materials are stable.” The board voted to issue limited tax obligation certificates not to exceed $3,070,000 to fund the project and also granted permission to let bids for the renovations. John Halbkat, board president, said that the certificates will be repaid by future capital funds and will not raise property taxes. Rodney Freeman, the district’s legal counsel, gave his advice to the board members regarding the district neighborhood school policy. According to him, because the district has granted so many exceptions to the policy and has not enforced it, it would be deemed “arbitrary and capricious” in a court of law if the district were to refuse an enrollment request and that parent chose to appeal it. In that case, the parent usually always prevails, he said. According to state law, five factors need to be considered when any request is received: the financial impact to the district, such as the need to hire another teacher; the educational impact; the accreditation of the school; the time involved to transport the student; and the wishes of the parents and patrons. Freeman said an appeal of a board’s decision may be made to the secretary of education in Pierre, then to the circuit court and finally to the supreme court. These appeals are costly and time consuming and nine times out of 10 the district loses. “The courts have made the parents’ wishes paramount in their decisions,” he said. He also noted that each decision is made on a case by case basis. The other concern facing the district is the unequal distribution of low income students throughout the district. Freeman said about 50 percent of Huron students qualify for free and reduced meals, but in one school 70 percent of the students are enrolled in the program; whereas at another school only 30 percent are low income. He said the district is at risk of facing a federal discrimination lawsuit because the government will not accept those numbers. Freeman said the district has three options. Reconfiguring the elementary schools into grade-level schools would eliminate all the legal problems. There would be no need for a neighborhood school policy, no parents would be requesting to enroll their children in a different building and the concentration of low-income students would be erased. “From a strictly legal standpoint, grade level schools is the only option that solves each of the problems facing the district,” he said. “However, that does not address other issues such as transportation.” The second option would be to implement an ironclad neighborhood school policy with definite boundaries and adhere to it strictly with exceptions only in very extreme cases. This would bring the district in line with the state law and shift the burden of proof to the parents in a lawsuit, but the courts will still consider each appeal case by case and could very well grant the parents request. This option would not address the equitable distribution of students within the district. And the last option, which Freeman emphasized is not really an option at all, is to do nothing and wait for the hammer to fall. He said the district would be better off deciding on a plan and implementing it now, rather than scrambling later after the federal government steps in or Huron becomes embroiled in a lawsuit. Superintendent Ross Opsal said he is hoping to meet with the various parent organizations this week and will be announcing details about the next elementary configuration meeting prior to the April 2 meeting date. Clyde Dillman, bus driver, was named the April Classified Employee of the Month. Ken Mees, transportation director, presented Dillman with a plaque recognizing this achievement. Dillman has been with the transportation department for 42 years. He was chosen S.D. School Bus Driver of the Year in 2007. Mees said Dillman is very knowledgeable about his job and takes great pride in it. “He also trains new drivers and helps them get ready for their CDL test. He has always shown his life-long love of children and driving.” Mees continued, “We all have a great respect for Clyde and are extremely grateful for all the years of service Clyde has given our district.” Madison students who have been part of the Madison Mighty presented a report. Adviser Michelle Bennett explained that the Madison Mighty replaced the student council. Instead of only a select few participating, the new system includes everyone in the class. Each quarter a different fourth- and fifth-grade class becomes the Madison Mighty and chooses a service project. They devise a plan and complete their project during that quarter. So far this year the students have raised more than $100 for the animal shelter, began a recycling drive at school and volunteered at the nursing homes and at Christmas they collected more than $400 and shopped for food, clothing and toys for two angel tree families.