Huron Schools ‘Stand up for Safety’

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HURON — Safety surrounds the Huron School District. The school adopted a new project called “Stand up for School Safety,” that allows people to anonymously notify the school of any situation that poses a threat or danger, as presented at Mondays School Board meeting by High School Principal Mike Radke, Sheriff Solem and SRO Van Diepen.
“The way that it works is the students will text the word “SAFE” to the number 82257, to report suspicious behavior, threats or violence,” said Radke. “Immediately we would have that information, and at that point we would determine if it is a school issue or an issue that law enforcement will assist.”
Sheriff Solem said, “As far as the Sheriff’s Association goes, we are very much in support of the program.”
“The new goal that was set at our goals session was a directive to focus on school safety, so this is a response to that goal, and I give the board gratitude for pushing us in the directions that are on the front burner,” Superintendent Terry Nebelsick said.
During Kelly Christopherson’s Business Manager’s report, it was highlighted that the surplus property auction that was held in July added approximately $31,000 into the general fund for the school budget.

“When we realized our enrollment fell below the projected number on count day last September, we committed to not spending our entire capital outlay fund balance so we would have enough funds to cover the general fund shortfall without any opt-out, which we did,” Christopherson said. “As unpredictable as the enrollment is every year, it would be a good practice to protect our general fund.”
Radke also gave a report on the diploma endorsements and alternate plans for graduation, with the intent to allow students to receive the credentials needed in order to follow the path they desire.
Board members that attended the ASBSD/SASD gave positive insights on what the different sessions had to offer, including school shooting procedures, school lunch policies, graduations programs and much more.
The Superintendent brought to the board the Huron School District Bullying Prevention Data Collection from the 2017-18 school year in new business. Nebelsick explained the reports of instances are improving each year, and the importance of reporting bullying to create a safe and comfortable school experience for students.
“We want to interview and intervene to create a safe environment for people,” Nebelsick said.
The next board meeting will be held at 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 27, in the Instructional Planning Center at the Huron Arena.

PHOTO BY ANGELINA DELLA ROCCO/PLAINSMAN
Principle Mike Radke, Sheriff Solem and SRO Van Diepen, presented a program to increase safety within the Huron School District at Monday evening’s board meeting.