Three candidates for two seats on Huron School Board

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HURON — Registered voters who reside in the Huron School District are able to cast ballots in the 2021 Huron School Board election. Three candidates - Kristi Glanzer, Rex Sawvell and Tim Van Berkum - are seeking the two open seats on the board. Van Berkum is running again after serving four terms on the board, while Glanzer was recently appointed to serve out the term of former school board member David Wheeler, before deciding to seek a full three-year term. Sawvell is seeking his first seat on the Huron School Board.

Election Day is April 13 and early voting for the Huron School Board seats, as well as for the Huron City Commission, is available at both the City of Huron Finance office in City Hall, or at the Huron Public School District’s Business office, located on the second floor, east side of Huron Arena.

The Plainsman submitted identical questionnaires to the candidates and their responses follow, alphabetically, and rotating for each question.

Plainsman — Tell us about yourself, your connection to Huron and your motivation to seek - or re-seek - a seat on the Huron Board of Education.

Kristi Glanzer — I am originally from Wolsey and have spent most of my life in Beadle County. I have worked at the Huron Clinic as a nurse practitioner for 20 years. My spouse is a farmer. We live in Huron and have 2 daughters, one who graduated from HHS, and one in 8th grade. Lexy is a nurse at Huron Clinic and Roxy is in volleyball and our church youth group. I have been on the school board for 3 months, completing David Wheeler’s term. I am interested in the school system because if kids have a good experience at school, it encourages them to continue their education and hopefully return to the community to raise their families. In order to grow Huron, we need to support the young people in school and encourage them to return to Huron after college or technical school.

Rex Sawvell — I am a recently retired (June 2020) Huron School District Administrator having served eight years as the Director of Buildings and Grounds and six of those I was also the Director of Transportation.  I was very involved in the growth and expansion of the school district that took place as our enrollment numbers continued to grow. I was on site daily as the size of the elementary schools doubled as well as overseeing the tremendous growth of the Transportation Department that took place when we switched to grade level schools.

I was involved in the monthly Administrative Team meetings, so I am familiar with the issues facing the school district. I feel as though I have a lot to offer as Huron continues to grow and becomes more diverse. My knowledge and experience that I gained as an administrator will allow me to be up to speed quickly on any issue before the School Board.

I have five grandchildren living in the Huron School District and I want to ensure that they and the rest of our student body get the quality education that they deserve. That motivates me to step forward and utilize my years of experience as an administrator to make sure we are doing the right things regarding our school children.

Tim Van Berkum — I have lived in Huron for 27 1/2 years. I am the General Manager of Manford Music & Vending. My wife Suzie is the administrative assistant to the school district’s Special Education Director. Our daughter, Sarah, is a junior at Northern State University with plans to become a teacher. Our daughter, Torrey, is a senior at Huron High School. She is also employed part time as a C.N.A at Aventera Nursing Home. She plans to attend Lake Area Tech next fall for nursing. When I first ran for the school board, it was my hope to have an impact on my kids’ education. I’m running for re-election with the hope to be part of the team that helps our new superintendent transition into his new role as our district’s leader.


Plainsman: Is there a project or projects that you see as being most important to you, should you be elected?

Sawvell — A lot of projects were completed in the last eight years including the new tennis courts, turf in the stadium, additions and remodeling of the elementary schools, remodeling projects at the High School, Middle School, Vocational School as well as some smaller projects. These projects required large bonds to be issued to finance them. Huron has one of the highest school tax levies in the state when compared to other schools of our size. While much of it was necessary to accommodate our growth issues, not all of it was. However, we must move forward now and work to pay off the bonds so that we can lower our tax levy. We must also come up with innovative ideas as to how we plan on maintaining all of the work that has been done.

Van Berkum — Mr. Nebelsick has been a superior leader during his tenure as superintendent. He has worked very tirelessly and hard to get our district to the position that it is in today. The Huron School District is looked to as a leader and innovator by many districts in South Dakota. I would like to see what Mr. Nebelsick has built carried on by the next superintendent.

Glanzer — I was very supportive of returning to school with COVID precautions this past fall. The school staff and school board made it possible to open the schools with very little student absenteeism. I am excited to get back to “normal” as the vaccine is distibuted. It is always a priority to keep taxes low. Many of the schools needed updates and those were completed several years ago. Interest rates have dropped and the bonds were refinaced at a lower rate, at a significant savings to the school. We are moving forward with a new CTE building, which is great for students who are more interested in the trades and hands-on learning. The funds are already available for the building, no new tax money is needed to fund it. Technology is also a priority.

There are so many new options for learning throughout the pandemic. We will continue to build on the technology program. We have great teachers in our school system and retention of those professionals is important.

Plainsman: As the area continues to slowly emerge from the cloud of the COVID pandemic, what should the school board’s role be moving forward?

Van Berkum — Continue heeding the advice of the Beadle County COVID taskforce. Listening to their advice over the last year allowed our schools to remain open the whole year, where other districts had more challenges doing this. For the most part, Huron activities remained open to the general public throughout the school year. Other districts our size cannot say the same thing. The safety protocols we put in place were all recommendations from the Beadle County COVID Task Force. I’m cautiously optimistic that we will be able to get to green this summer. We don’t need to be in a big rush to undo all safety protocols.

Glanzer — The most concerning outcome of COVID was the anxiety and depression I witnessed in many children. Staying home, socially isolating and not going to sports were the perfect storm for mental health issues. Again, this was one of the main reasons that I encouraged an aggressive back to school plan last fall. Many children have fallen behind in school, the government has appropriated funds for remedial learning and I am excited to make a plan to get back on schedule.

Sawvell —This is an excellent question and one that needs to be discussed openly and honestly. We know that the COVID pandemic is not over and we must continue to take precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. There are some who feel that the School Board should just hire and fire the Superintendent and let him/her make all of the decisions that affect our students for the rest of their lives. We seen a recent example of this when a decision was made to not have an eight-grade promotion ceremony. However, we have permitted thousands of spectators into the Huron Arena and photos of the games show many in attendance were not wearing mask. We are allowing prom to occur (which I agree with) and the students will have a dance.  There are plans to proceed with an employee banquet where hundreds of staff members will sit next to each other eating without a mask on. While I am not in favor of the School Board micromanaging the day-to-day operations of the school district, it does appear as though the rules regarding COVID are not being applied evenly across the board and this is where I think the School Board should be taking action and be involved in the decisions made regarding how we move forward.

Plainsman: Is there anything specifically you wish to tell the voters about yourself as a school board     member?

Glanzer — Huron has been a good community to me. I enjoy seeing our town’s children grow up, get their education, and come back to Huron to raise their own family. I love our community and am excited to see our future.

Sawvell —The Huron School District has some excellent staff and administrators. I know most all of them and they know me. They know that in my eight years as an administrator, we worked hard to get through all of the construction and other hurdles that came our way. I opened a pizzeria just prior to the COVID pandemic hitting.  My staff and I have worked hard to make dining in as safe as possible while battling through the ups and downs of running a business during a pandemic. I did not buy new things or build big buildings so I could keep up with the other guy. I will apply this philosophy and work ethic if I am elected to the Huron Board of Education.  Thank you for your consideration.

Van Berkum — It’s been a privilege and honor to serve the patrons of the Huron School District over the past 12 years. I’ve been able to serve 3 years as vice president and 5 years as president. We have a wonderful professional staff and a cohesive board that works well together. I would love to have an opportunity to continue serving and be part of the team that advises and guides our new superintendent into his new role July 1.