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Candidates outline differing approaches to AI and future skills for Sioux Falls students
Summary
At the League of Women Voters forum, candidates debated how the district should handle artificial intelligence in classrooms — incumbents described district guidance and blocked ChatGPT on Chromebooks, challengers called for curriculum and early training to make students AI-capable.
Artificial intelligence and preparation for future work were a central focus at the Sioux Falls School District 49-5 candidate forum, with multiple candidates urging a balance of practical coursework, ethics and oversight.
Stuart Willett and other challengers pressed for an explicit AI curriculum beginning in early grades. "We want them to actually be directing it," Willett said, arguing that students should learn to make AI a tool rather than a crutch. Willett said he filed AI curriculum proposals through the district’s innovation-grant process.
Incumbents described a more cautious, district-led rollout. Mark Moran and Gail Swenson said the district is training teachers, piloting AI guidance and instituting governance and oversight; Dawn Marie Johnson added technical details about the district’s controls, saying ChatGPT is blocked on district Chromebooks and some monitoring tools are in use. Swenson pointed forum attendees to a district AI guidance document that outlines safety, ethical use and staff training.
Candidates from across the field warned about misuse (cheating, surveillance or inappropriate reliance) and suggested concrete classroom practices such as handwritten assignments or drafts, teacher monitoring, professional development for teachers and lessons on digital ethics.
No formal policy changes were enacted at the forum. Candidates agreed on the need for district governance, but diverged on how quickly to adopt curricular changes and how to balance safeguards with instruction to prepare students for an AI-driven workforce.
The forum did not resolve questions about specific curricula, funding or timelines; candidates said these would be topics for future board discussion if elected.
