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Brookings School Board approves supplemental budget, employee-benefit changes and several MOUs; tables audit and orders laptops
Summary
The Brookings School District 05-1 Board of Education approved a supplemental amendment to the 2024–25 budget, changes to employee benefits, several memoranda of understanding and a high-school laptop purchase and voted to enter executive session; the board tabled approval of the 2023–24 audit report.
At its meeting the Brookings School District 05-1 Board of Education approved a series of routine and business items, including a supplemental amendment to the 2024–25 budget, changes to employee benefits for the 2025–26 plan year, several memoranda of understanding, and an order to proceed with a high-school 1:1 laptop purchase. The board also tabled action on the 2023–24 audit report and voted to move into executive session under South Dakota law.
Agenda and consent items: The board approved the meeting agenda and the consent agenda without recorded roll-call tallies in the public transcript.
Budget and audit: The board voted to approve a supplement to the 2024–25 budget. Separately, a motion by a board member to table approval of the 2023–24 audit report until the April regular meeting carried; the member who moved to table said they wanted more time to review the audit with the finance staff and the business manager.
Benefits: The board approved changes to the 2025–26 employee benefits plan. Board discussion noted an insurer-proposed increase of about 8% for health coverage and approximately 4% for dental; committee members said the increase was modest compared with larger-rate shocks and that an 8% adjustment kept funding levels below the 100% target used in some long-term models.
Memoranda of understanding and agreements: The board approved an MOU to allow in-district school counseling practicum placements with Southern Oklahoma University, an MOU partnering Brookings Area United Way and the Communities That Care community board, and a continuation agreement with the South Dakota Board of Regents to offer Math 114 as an in-district course at Brookings High School. The board also approved the adoption of the 2024–25 completed evaluation for Superintendent Dr. Schultz.
Equipment purchase: The board authorized purchase of a new 1:1 laptop program for Brookings High School. District staff explained the lease for students expires this year; bids were solicited and district staff recommended placing orders ahead of potential tariff and shipping delays so laptops would be ready for students next fall. Staff gave a rough planning figure of about $800,000 over four years, noting final vendor selection and pricing would be determined from competitive quotes.
Other approvals: The board approved acceptance of donated items for district programs (donors cited in the meeting included Brookings Utility, the Dayton Foundation, and Winx Fine Jewelry). The board approved an approval motion for the 2024–25 budget supplement and carried motions approving the listed MOUs and benefits plan. Following business items, the board voted to move into executive session pursuant to SDCL 1-25-2(4); the public transcript notes no action items would follow the executive session.
Votes at a glance: The public transcript records motions and that "the motion passes" or "that motion carries" for multiple items but does not include roll-call tallies by name in the meeting audio excerpt. Where a mover or seconder was verbally present in the transcript, the motion text is recorded below; where the transcript did not name the mover, the filing marks the mover as not specified.
The board did not take votes on the HOSA presentation or the Madera Elementary informational presentation.
