Minnehaha County sets July 1 effective date for Sioux Falls–Lennox school boundary change

The Minnehaha County Commission on June 30 adopted Resolution MC20-48, setting July 1, 2020, as the effective date for a boundary change that moves property adjacent to western Sioux Falls from Lennox School District 41-4 into Sioux Falls School District 49-5.

Auditor Bob Litz presented the resolution and the legal description for the affected parcels. Brett Arenz, in-house counsel for the Sioux Falls School District, told the commission that both school boards had passed resolutions and held public hearings, and that no petitions had been filed to refer the change to a public vote. Arenz confirmed that the change will affect taxes payable in 2021.

The resolution cites SDCL §§13-6-84 and related statutes that authorize school district boundary changes when statutory and factual requirements are met. The commission amended the resolution to add the clause “as of 2019” to the legal description and then approved the amended resolution by roll call vote, 5 ayes.

Why it matters: the change shifts tax allocation and voting jurisdiction for the parcels listed in the resolution and implements a tax-sharing agreement the districts negotiated. County staff noted that the commission’s role is to set the effective date for tax and voting purposes under SDCL §13-6-87.

What happened next: the commission recorded the approved resolution (MC20-48). No petitions to refer the decision to a vote were reported to the county as of May 14, 2020, according to documents submitted by the Lennox superintendent.

The commission made the action final at the meeting; no subsequent amendments were recorded during the session.