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Public commenters question athletic spending and call for propaganda lessons, release of Sanford study
Summary
Two public commenters urged board attention to budget priorities and curriculum content: one asked the district to prioritize academic funding over extracurricular costs, the other asked for required reading and curriculum on propaganda and raised concerns about a Sanford Health study and nutrition data reporting.
Two members of the public used the meeting’s non‑agenda public‑comment period to press the Sioux Falls School District Board on funding priorities and curricular content.
John Cunningham, who identified himself as living at 4904 South Oxbow and said he holds a master’s degree in public finance, urged the board to prioritize academic funding over nonacademic programs. Cunningham singled out high school bowling as an example of extracurricular spending he said may total "a couple of $200,000," and he warned that to fund such activities the district may be reducing funds available for teacher pay, which contributes to turnover.
"You don't have unlimited fiscal resources," Cunningham said. "I believe the general public would expect academic funding to be fully funded before nonacademic [programs]." He encouraged the board to consider opportunity costs when making budget decisions.
Chad Bishop, who spoke second, called on the district to require George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World for juniors and seniors and to add lesson plans examining propaganda techniques. Bishop urged lessons on historical U.S. episodes, including the Church Committee hearings, and criticized what he described as selective media coverage of a high‑profile Sanford Health personnel event. He referred to a study he called the ‘‘SURVIVE’’ (also referenced as "SURVISE" in his remarks) seroprevalence study and asked why data from that study had not been publicly released; he also offered to volunteer to assist district staff in populating nutrition product UPCs and added-sugar fields in the district’s meal‑viewer platform.
Board members did not take action during public comment. The board’s meeting packet and staff responses were not included in the transcript; the requests were recorded in the public‑comment portion of the meeting.
