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Valley View teachers, parents urge board to pause plan to split elementary ‘specials’ staff
Summary
Teachers and parents told the Rapid City Area Schools board that a proposal to split elementary specials positions across buildings would create scheduling, space and equipment problems and risk program declines; the board asked administration to engage staff on logistics.
Voices from multiple elementary schools urged the Rapid City Area Schools Board of Education on March 7 to pause a proposal that would reassign and fractionally split “specials” positions — music, art, PE and library — across buildings.
Crystal Decker, the information/media specialist at South Canyon Elementary, said the district had not justified creating a 1.5-position for specials and asked the board to delay any decision until practical logistics were addressed. “If 2 teachers are assigned to the same building, how will they realistically share 1 library, 1 music room, or 1 gym for PE?” she asked, requesting clearer operational detail on schedules and shared spaces.
Several classroom specialists gave specific examples of how the plan could hurt programs. A music teacher identified in the record as Mrs. Longland said splitting teachers among schools risks inconsistent equipment, unequal access to materials and job burnout. “That’s not gonna work,” she told the board, citing prior curriculum-alignment work intended to keep rooms uniform across the district.
Logan Beart, one of two elementary art teachers in the district, described running an elementary art program on a cart and said adding fractional staff would not address a lack of dedicated space. “In art in particular, there’s no half art teachers at other schools because it’s just me and Lori,” he said, noting Valley View’s class and section structure.
Valley View music teacher Heidi Perrette provided enrollment and scheduling detail, saying her school currently serves about 612 students and operates 25 sections; she estimated it would cost roughly $10,000 to outfit a full music room. “This proposal has our specialists asking how the logistics of this proposal would work,” Perrette said, and she invited board members to review the master schedule in person.
Board members responded by stressing governance boundaries and promising administrative follow-up. Board member Christine Stephenson reminded the public that staffing assignments are an administrative responsibility under the district’s governance model and asked administrators to respond respectfully to the concerns. Other board members said the restaffing guidelines are intended as flexible and that district leaders would engage principals and staff to refine schedules and address logistics.
The board did not take formal action on staffing at the March 7 meeting; administrators said they would continue work to clarify schedules, spaces and resource needs before any final decision.
The board meeting is scheduled to continue its regular agenda at future sessions where staffing proposals and budget implications may reappear.
