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Brookings School Board approves donations, budget supplement and multiple contracts; superintendent reports on trail, attendance and funding
Summary
At its June meeting the Brookings School Board approved donated items (including Food ForThought donations), a timing-related supplement to the 2025–26 budget, a consulting agreement for special education services, a Medicaid administration agreement and several other contracts; Superintendent Dr. Schultz reported on a sidewalk/trail project, attendance gains and an $800,000 extraordinary cost fund payment.
The Brookings School District 05-1 School Board on June [date not specified in transcript] approved a series of consent and action items, including donated items, a budget supplement to align a bond payment timing, and several contracts and agreements affecting special education and student services. Superintendent Dr. Schultz also briefed the board on a pedestrian and trail project near Mickelson Middle School, student attendance initiatives and state funding for special services.
Board members approved donated items that included substantial contributions to the Food ForThought program; the board noted Women Without Limits selected Food ForThought as its nonprofit recipient this cycle. A separate motion to supplement the 2025–26 budget was approved after board member Stacy explained the district must account for a bond payment due July 1, which affects the amortization schedule and moves slightly more principal into the current fiscal year while lowering interest expense.
The board canvassed and approved the official school board election results. Members noted 1,752 absentee ballots were included in the count; the board ran the absentee totals twice and identified a single blank ballot that explained a one‑ballot discrepancy. Kelsey Bowman, the successful candidate, will join the board in July.
The board approved a series of agreements and contracts: a consulting agreement with Commit to Change (Heather Aspenson) for special education consulting and ABA‑related supports and work on a potential short‑term day facility; a Medicaid administration agreement with Southeast Area Cooperative to manage Medicaid‑eligible services; a master affiliation agreement with the University of South Dakota for non‑medical internships; and a copier lease and service agreement with Century Business Products. Agenda materials listed copy rates of 4 cents per color copy and a range of 40–45 cents per black‑and‑white copy; the document shows a monthly lease payment in a format recorded as "3,90.64," which appears to be a formatting error in the paperwork and is not presented here as a verified dollar amount.
Board members also approved declaring the district's 2017 Bluebird minibus surplus because the vehicle is not running and requires extensive repairs. The board moved to renew insurance coverage with the Associated School Board Protective Trust; meeting materials showed the renewal premium at $783,000 for property, liability, crime and auto coverages—about $150,000 less than the prior year, an outcome board members attributed to Trust negotiations and participation on advisory efforts.
In the superintendent report, Dr. Schultz said the district approved a trail easement and the 17th Street sidewalk expansion near Mickelson Middle School; construction is scheduled to start and finish by Aug. 8. Dr. Schultz noted this graduating class is one of the district's largest (around 279–280 graduates) and said the district has already received roughly $800,000 from the state's extraordinary cost fund for special services, reducing near‑term funding uncertainty. He also described reading‑transition scores used when students move between buildings and praised strong gains at Hillcrest and Dakota Prairie.
A motion to enter executive session under SDCL 1‑25‑2 was made and seconded late in the meeting and the board began the process to move into closed session.
Votes at a glance: the meeting record shows motions to approve the consent agenda, donated items, the budget supplement, the election canvass, the 2026–27 intermediate school learner handbook and the non‑union classified employee handbook; the board declared surplus property (2017 minibus), approved the insurance renewal, and approved the Commit to Change consulting agreement, the Medicaid administration agreement, the USD affiliation agreement and the copier lease. In each case the transcript records the motion, second and "motion passes" for approval; individual roll‑call tallies were not recorded in the provided transcript.
