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Superintendent announces Lake Area Tech aviation partnership; district monitoring federal DEI rulings
Summary
Huron School District 02-2 will partner with Lake Area Technical College to offer college-credit aviation classes starting next spring (unmanned aircraft/drone courses) and private pilot ground school in 2026; the superintendent also reported the district is monitoring two federal court actions related to Title VI and DEI guidance.
Huron School District 02-2 Superintendent Dr. Steinhoff told the school board the district has reached an agreement to partner with Lake Area Technical College to expand career and technical education in aviation.
"We will be partnering with Lake Area Tech Technical College," Dr. Steinhoff said during his superintendent's report, summarizing meetings with Lake Area Tech administrators, Huron Airport representatives and the new FBO operator, Wildair. The district will contract Lake Area Tech instructors to teach courses for both college and high-school credit.
Starting next spring the district plans to offer two aviation classes: a three-credit and a one-credit course focused on unmanned aerial systems (drones). The drone course will be primarily online with periodic on-site instruction for flight practice. In fall 2026 the district plans to offer private pilot ground school in partnership with Wildair and the Huron Airport; the district will pay for 20 seats in that class. A third optional course — aircraft meteorology — will be available at student expense.
Dr. Steinhoff said the district confirmed the program fits within its budget: "$10,000 is about what one section of teaching costs, and we're able to fit that in with the 20 seats for aviation," he said.
Separately, Steinhoff told the board the district is monitoring two federal court actions involving Title VI and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) guidance from the U.S. Department of Education. One case, New Hampshire National Education Association et al. v. U.S. Department of Education, resulted in a preliminary injunction affecting Title VI certification processes; a second case involving the American Federation of Teachers put a stay on a February 14 letter that sought removal of DEI programming from schools. Steinhoff said he signed a district certification stating the Huron School District does not operate DEI programs, following the district attorney's and South Dakota Department of Education's advice.
The aviation partnership is scheduled to start with drone coursework next spring, move to private-pilot ground school in fall 2026 (20 district-paid seats), and may include an optional aircraft-meteorology course paid by students. The superintendent invited board members to ask questions and said administration would provide further details and timelines as they are finalized.
