Jean (Brisbine) Lewis, 105, of Ridgefield, Conn., passed away on March 9, 2023.

Jean was born in Artesian and grew up in Woonsocket. She was valedictorian of her class and graduated cum laude from the University of South Dakota. Jean pledged Alpha Xi Delta, Epsilon Chapter at USD in 1935.

Jean and Bob Lewis were married in March 1943. Bob worked for PanAm, and they traveled the world – San Francisco, Europe and the Middle East. Jean and Bob had two children, Linda Lewis Drake and Robert L. Lewis.

Jean, a small-town girl, became a world traveler, an accomplished golfer and bridge player.

Jean was preceded in death by her husband of 74 years, Robert E. Lewis.

The School Board of Sanborn Central School District 55-5 met in regular session on Monday, March 13, 2023, at 7:05 p.m. in the Sanborn Central library with the following present: Curtis Adams, Emma Klaas, Mark Goral, and Gary Spelbring Jr. Others present were Superintendent Justin Siemsen, Elementary/Middle Scohol Principal Connie Vermeulen and Business Manager Gayle Bechen. Absent was Clayton Dean.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Visitors to Board Meeting: Megan Wilson, SCEA.

Motion by Adams, seconded by Goral, all aye, to approve the agenda as printed.

Motion by Adams, seconded by Klaas, all aye, to approve the minutes of the regular board meeting February 13, 2023, as printed.

Motion by Klaas, seconded by Goral, all aye, to approve the Financial Statement and bills.

General Fund balance, February 1, 2023: $959.996.46. Receipts: taxes $65,746.46, penalties/interest $104.26, interest $173.99, admission $2,341.00, other pupil $6.80, other $2,787.03, yearbook $45.00, state fines $921.74, state aid February $71,874.00, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program $1,338.82, Wessington Springs School one-third football reimbursement $1,640.67, Woonsocket School one-third football reimbursement $1,640.67, S&PL school apportionment $13,217.08, bank franchise $7,976.41, health equity reimbursement $249.78, manual journal entry/voided check $148,930.45. Expenditures: $355,260.38. Balance, February 28, 2023: $923,730.24. CorTrust Savings balance, February 1, 2023: $50,587.70. Receipts: interest $0.00. Expenditures: $0.00.  Balance, February 28, 2023: $50,587.70. CD $150,000.00.

Capital Outlay Fund balance, February 1, 2023: $700,371.79. Receipts: taxes $10,077.04, penalties/interest $4.42, interest $126.54, manual journal entry/voided check $100,000.00. Expenditures: $152,211.83. Balance, February 28, 2023: $658,367.96. CD $150,000.00.

Special Education Fund balance, February 1, 2023: $485,364.39. Receipts: taxes $10,173.04, penalties/interest $10.43, interest $90.95, health equity reimbursement $9.82. Expenditures: $25,559.71, manual journal entry $276.30. Balance, February 28, 2023: $469,812.62. 

Food Service Fund balance, February 1, 2023: $19,800.45. Receipts: interest $3.96, student meals $6,174.40, adult meals $649.30, ala carte $4,570.66, federal reimbursement $6,319.16. Expenditures: $23,433.37. Balance, February 28, 2023: $14,084.56.

Enterprise Fund balance, February 1, 2023: $12,822.11. Receipts: tuition $3,225.00. Expenditures: $4,415.77. Balance, February 28, 2023: $11,631.34.

Custodial Funds balance, February 1, 2023: $69,969.21. Receipts: $7,034.36. Expenditures: $4,966.15. Balance, February 28, 2023: $72,037.42.

Scholarship Fund balance, February 1, 2023: $8,732.11. Receipts: interest $1.53. Expenditures: $0.00. Balance, February 28, 2023: $8,733.64. Peters Scholarship balance: $8,733.64.

Salaries and benefits for the month of March 2023 were as follows: 

General Fund: $165,154.29; 

Special Education: $19,931.34; 

Food Service: $9,956.49; 

Enterprise Fund: $4,415.77.

Claims approved: GENERAL FUND – A-Ox Welding, cylinder rent $37.26; Brooks Oil Co., LP $2,941.00; Capital One, high school supply $7.88; Central Electric, February electricity $3,346.83; Chesterman Co., pop $95.18; Clayton’s Repair, bus supply $42.00, bus labor $550.00; Clubhouse Hotel & Suites, elementary/middle school prin room delegates $156.44; CorTrust, air cards $90.00; Farmers Elevator, tractor fitting $13.04; Golden West Technologies, phone support $262.50;

[IMPREST FUND: Corey Baruth, three junior varsity referee $120.00; Greg Blue, boys basketball referee $105.00; Wade Buck, doubleheader basketball referee $120.00; Matt Clark, boys basketball referee/mileage $133.05; Bob Deboer, doubleheader basketball referee/mileage $148.05; Gary Duffy, doubleheader basketball referee/mileage $176.10; Carrie Howard, four junior varsity clock $60.00, three varsity clocks $90.00; Erica Howard, four junior varsity shot clock $60.00, three varsity shot clock $90.00; Brad McGirr, boys basketball referee $105.00; Sanborn Central General Fund, state wrestling meal money $170.00; Bobbi White, three head basketball book $70.00; Trista White, three junior high basketball referee $90.00]; 

J.W. Pepper, vocal music $113.98; Josten’s Inc., yearbook 2023 second payment $1,368.00; K&D Busing, basketball shared busing $2,470.25; Kimball School District, Region 3B wrestling loss $294.42; Local Lumber & Supply, vo ag supply $366.87; Menards, janitor supply $27.33, Mid-Dakota Technologies, February tech support $170.00; Mt. Vernon School, Region girls basketball loss $207.99; Performance Foodservice, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program $1,074.51; Plains Commerce Bank, 11 month CD $150,000.00; Plank Road Publishing, music K-8 renewal $149.95; Pomp’s Tire, bus tires $1,261.50; Public Health Laboratory, water test $15.00; Sanborn Central Food Service, lunch supervision February meals $87.30, lunch supervision ala carte $17.80; Sanborn Weekly Journal, board proceedings $123.33, public notice $41.54; Santel Communications, February phone/fax $235.35; Sturdevant’s Auto Parts, bus supplies $825.50. 

CAPITAL OUTLAY Fund — Plains Commerce Bank, 11 month CD $100,000.00. 

SPECIAL EDUCATION Fund – Children’s Home Society, February tuition $2,448.91; CorTrust, Special Education conference registration Sanderson/McClane $200.00. 

FOOD SERVICE Fund – Bimbo Bakeries, bread $112.95; Child/Adult Nutrition Services, processed commodities $985.37; CorTrust, national/state dues $155.00; Darrington Water Conditioning, February SS tank $28.00; Eastside Jersey Dairy, milk $505.37; Performance Foods, supply $585.50, food $4,448.84, ala carte $411.78. 

ENTERPRISE Fund – None.

Mr. Siemsen reported on the following:

• It is my honor to report that Mrs. Megan Wilson, high school Math teacher, has been selected as a State-Level finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Mrs. Wilson becomes a candidate for the National Presidential Award. A formal announcement will be forthcoming from the South Dakota Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. What an honor! 

• Legislative Update: It is looking like the proposed five percent increase to education funding will end up somewhere in between that five to eight percent, which is what is being pushed for by education lobbyists (the legislators approved a seven percent increase to state educational funding). This information will be factored into the budgeting for the upcoming school year. 

• The annual meeting with the district’s insurance pool will be held on Wednesday, March 22nd, in Chamberlain. Bechen will attend. This will also factor into the budgeting for the upcoming school year. 

• Senior Project workday will be held on April 5th, 2023, with the final project presentation day being held on Friday, April 13th. 

• The school continues to have difficulty obtaining applicants for the vacated band position. Sandy Selland has done admirably this year, but will not likely be interested in continuing in that position. There is an option in principle, with a number of other Huron Area schools, to engage in a multi-school cooperative for band. If the Sanborn Central Board of Education would like to pursue this avenue, it would be a three-year commitment, also contingent on finding an applicant willing to travel to multiple schools once a week, and perhaps creating a multi-school full band. The other options are to leave the current job posting open, hoping there is an applicant to hire, or cease band operations due to the lack of a certified teacher. The discussion led to the administration and board opting not to pursue this option initially, trying to find a teacher for the district to share with Woonsocket, and if that fails, inquire to the proposed Huron Area Band, if they get a teacher to staff it. 

• A letter was sent home to elementary students (PreK-5) detailing a change that was made in the serving of the main portion of meals for PreK and kindergarten students. Occasionally, during certain meals, those students were given half of the main entrée initially, and if they wanted the other half, they could get it at no cost to them. This was done as a means to try and eliminate wasted food, as some entrees were quite large. There was some confusion with this between the students, their parents, and the staff because it was not correctly relayed to parents. To alleviate the issue, the school reverted back to the initial method of simply serving the portion size to everyone and assuming any waste that occurs. The kitchen staff and administration will be looking into ways to improve the food service program over the summer, including but not limited to assessing the ala carte portion of the program. Any revisions of the program will be conveyed to the public, detailing every aspect to ensure clarification. Laura, Leah, and Tina do a great job, and the Board will continue supporting their efforts. 

• Spring activities are set to begin, with FFA CDEs, track and golf set to begin. 

• Foundation Scholarship members met on March 6th to calculate the amount each graduating senior would be eligible to receive this year. That amount will be $2,300 for a fully vested student (attending Sanborn Central for seven-plus years). Congratulations seniors, and thank you to everyone who continues to support this endeavor. 

• Mid-State Audio, who sold the school the gym sound system and installed it, will be coming to assess it, as it has not performed the way it should. A work order is in, and hopefully, it can get straightened out soon. 

• DDC is finishing work on the heating and cooling system. They have had to work around the weather issues.

Mrs. Vermeulen reported: 

• The high school/middle school vocal contest was held on March 9 at Sanborn Central in the morning. 

• The Sioux Falls Zoo Mobile was scheduled to be on March 9, but due to weather, it had to be rescheduled for March 23. 

• The Call to Freedom Sex Trafficking presentations have been rescheduled to March 22 for grades seven through eight and nine through 12. 

• There is no school March 10 and 17. 

• The remote learning appeared to run smoothly. Only a few students were not able to connect. Packets were sent home with students in grades PreK through third. Attendance and communication was done via Class DoJo and Zoom. Students in grades four through 12 took their computers home and connected with their teachers via Zoom and google classroom. A daily schedule was sent home with the students. 

• An introduction to volleyball has started after school for grades fifth and sixth. Practice rotates between Sanborn Central and Woonsocket. 

• Track meets will begin for high school on March 31 and April 6 for middle school, weather permitting.

Discussion Items: None.  

Old Business: None.

New Business:

Motion by Klaas, seconded by Goral, all aye, to approve the resignation of Kim Sevareid from the position of Pre-K teacher and thank her for 21 years of service. 

Motion by Goral, seconded by Adams, all aye, to go into executive session SDCL 1-25-2(1) to discuss personnel items with possible motions to follow in at 7:55 p.m. Regular session resumed at 8:35 p.m.

Motion by Adams, seconded by Klaas, all aye, to approve the certified and classified letters of intent for employment in the 2023-2024 school year with the understanding that some reassignments and letters of intent to not rehire may be necessary.

Motion by Goral, seconded by Adams, all aye, to approve all extracurricular letters of intent for employment in the 2023-2024 school year with the understanding that some reassignments and letters of intent not to rehire may be necessary.

The regular Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. in the Sanborn Central School Library with the Board meeting first followed by certified staff negotiations. 

Motion by Klaas, seconded by Goral, all aye, to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 p.m.

Gayle Bechen

Business Manager

Gary Spelbring Jr.

Board Vice Chair

Published once on March 30, 2023, at the total approximate cost of $128.00 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com.

Sanborn County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. with Chairman Jeff Ebersdorfer presiding. Present were Steve Larson, Paul Larson, Gary Blindauer, and Duane Peterson. Auditor Kami Moody was also present. Motion by Blindauer, seconded by Peterson, to approve the minutes from the March 7 meeting, as presented. Motion carried.  

CITIZENS INPUT

No public was in attendance for input.

HIGHWAY

No personnel from the Highway Department was present.  

4-H BUILDING COMMITTEE

Paula Linke was present to discuss the plans for the 4-H Building. Due to the bids received being much higher than the fundraising goal, the Building Committee went back to the drawing board. They have proposed different options to the board of commissioners on how to move forward with the project. All such details are yet to be determined of which would be best, for the county and the fundraising committee, on how to move forward. 

PENNY FARRIS, DIRECTOR OF EQUALIZATION

Farris addressed the board with events happening in the Director of Equalization office. The County will be hiring a Director of Equalization Administrative Assistant. An ad will be published in the upcoming paper with more details.

OTHER BUSINESS BROUGHT BEFORE THE BOARD 

Drainage Board minutes from January 11 were reviewed, discussed, and approved.  

Motion by P. Larson, seconded by S. Larson, to close the Courthouse on Friday, April 7th (Good Friday), and Monday, April 10th (Easter Monday), as declared by Governor Noem, to observe the Easter holiday. Motion carried.  

Auditor Moody brought up 4-H building mowing again for this summer. After discussion, Moody will publish the advertisement in the paper to accept mowing bids for the 4-H building. Bids will be opened at the meeting on April 18th. 

REPORTS AND BILLS

Motion by P. Larson, seconded by Peterson, to pay the following bills; motion carried:

South Dakota Association of County Officials, Monthly Remittance $68.00

State Treasurer, Monthly Remittance $82,250.86

First National Bank of Omaha, Direct Deposit Fee $27.56

Towns – Townships – Schools – Cities, Monthly Remittance $227,556.18

Amazon, Supplies $44.24

AT&T Mobility, Utilities $59.50

Avera Queen of Peace, Employee Drug Testing $112.00

Bound Tree, Supplies $108.42

City of Woonsocket, Utilities $53.50

State of South Dakota, Blood Draw – J. Weigand and C. Alvarez $165.00

Express 2, Fuel $193.01

Farmers Cashway, Supplies $75.60

Daniel Feldhaus Reporting, Transcripts $17.00

First National Bank of Omaha, Supplies $969.79

Governors Inn, Spring Workshop $333.00

Hillyard/ Sioux Falls, Supplies $850.75

KO’S Pro Service, Supplies $2.50

Lewis Family Drug LLC, Medication – J. Knox $15.99

Mcleods Printing & Supply, Supplies $92.27

Menards, Supplies $107.78

Northwestern Energy, Utilities $2,781.37

Office Peeps, Supplies $383.96

Physicians Claims Company, Ambulance Service Fee February 2023 $455.57

South Dakota Association of County Commissioners, Workshop Fees $110.00

South Dakota Association of County Officials, Workshop Fees $110.00

South Dakota Association Comp. Equipment, Dues $15.00

Tobin Transfer, Clean out office for flooring $1,110.00

Ron Volesky, Court Appointed Attorney Fees – J. Kessinger $6,425.50

Waste Management, Utilities $333.02

Xcel Energy, Utilities $391.24

There being no further business before the board, motion by Peterson, seconded by P. Larson, to adjourn the meeting at 11:00 a.m. Motion carried. 

The next regular scheduled meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.                                                                                                                                          

Kami Moody

Sanborn County Auditor

Jeff Ebersdorfer

Chairman of the Board, 

Sanborn County         

Published once on March 30, 2023, at the total approximate cost of $46.25 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com.