Todd County School District 66-1 reviews staffing, transportation concerns; approves consent agenda

The Todd County School District 66-1 Board of Education heard an update on staffing and policy work, discussed transportation vehicle cleanliness and the possible purchase of larger passenger vans, and approved the consent agenda unanimously at its regular meeting.

Superintendent: “I’ve listed all the policies that are out on policy alerts. I hope to have them all ready to go for your review,” the superintendent said, summarizing policy work pending board review and noting three new policies that require member attention. The superintendent also asked the board to provide a volunteer to represent the district on the sick leave bank, saying a representative is needed for roughly five to six meetings a year.

Board member Tim volunteered: “I’ll do it,” after the request for a sick leave bank representative.

Why it matters: Board members said staffing and transportation affect day-to-day operations and student activities. The superintendent reported six current staff openings; of those, three are in special education, one is in career and technical education (CTE) and the remaining openings include a “couple paras,” according to the superintendent.

Transportation and vehicle use: Board member Mark raised reports that large transportation vehicles returned from trips in an unclean condition. He said, “I’ve heard reports of, like, our big transportation vehicles, like, dirty and stuff on when people are taking them to trips.” Members discussed reviewing vehicle assignment and cleaning procedures and briefly revisited prior conversations about replacing Suburbans with larger vans. One speaker noted that Ford Transit vans were being considered as an alternative because they “hold, like, 12” passengers and said a Transit-style van would not require a commercial driver’s license for the configurations discussed.

Meetings and training: Several members reported attending recent board training sessions and agreed to share presentation slides. The superintendent and board discussed an upcoming meeting schedule: a meeting at 5:30 p.m. later in the week; a student hearing on Aug. 27; and a “welcome back” event on the 29th at 8 a.m., per the superintendent’s calendar note.

Votes and executive session: The board adopted the agenda earlier in the meeting and later approved the consent agenda. The consent agenda motion passed with a recorded outcome of 5-0 (yes: 5, no: 0). The board also agreed to hold a short executive session on personnel under the South Dakota statute referenced in the meeting transcript; the board set a return time to the open meeting of 5:39 p.m.

The meeting concluded after setting the executive session time and confirming follow-up on staffing, policy review and transportation procedures.