Rapid City Area Schools swears in two trustees and elects board officers; board keeps Rapid City Journal as official newspaper

The Rapid City Area School District Board of Education administered oaths of office to two elected trustees and elected its 2025-26 officers at the annual organizational meeting.

Angela Rafferty and Jamie Clapham were sworn in during an evening ceremony following a brief technical delay. "Having been elected to the office of board member of Rapid City Area School District number 51-4 in Pennington County, do you solemnly swear..." the oath recitation stated as each took the pledge.

After the swearing-in, the board elected its officers. Troy Carr was elected board president in a roll-call vote; Jamie Clapham was elected first vice president and Katie Urban was elected second vice president. President Carr thanked trustees who supported his nomination and said he was confident in the district's leadership team, specifically naming the superintendent, in-house attorney and the business manager as the positions the board supervises.

Trustees also designated the Rapid City Journal as the district's official newspaper. Trustees debated whether to add a Meade County paper (the Faith Independent in Faith, S.D.) after several members noted the district spans multiple counties and some constituents receive local county papers. Board members raised two recurring concerns: the statutory requirement to publish notices in a printed paper and the cost of newspaper publication, which one trustee said can approach tens of thousands of dollars for a district this size.

Board leaders said the district will explore alternatives and legislative options so that district notices can reach voters and residents effectively while balancing statutory requirements and costs. For now, the Rapid City Journal remains the official newspaper.