The Brookings School Board voted 5-0 Monday to approve a new electronic device policy that will go into effect this school year throughout the Brookings School District.
Schools will be device-free during the day, with some exceptions. Brookings High School is the only school implementing Yondr pouches, which are pouches that students will lock cellphones in during the day. Students have access to personal devices during lunch period and during Flex Time if they leave the building, said superintendent Summer Schultz.
Personal devices are defines as “cell phones, smartphones, and other personal electronic devices, such as headphones or audio earpieces, handheld games, smartwatches, and tablets used by a learner for the purpose of creating, accessing, processing, protecting, monitoring, storing, retrieving, displaying, or transmitting data,” according to the policy.
Schultz said the pouches are being implemented because the team of teachers and administration that researched the phone policy don’t want teachers taking up instructional time trying to keep phone away from students.
“This is because they care about kids, not that our students were in trouble or that they use them (phones) too much,” Schultz said. “We just know too much about what those phones are doing to students and, whether it be their mental health, the rates of depression, the inability to focus. If we know all of those things, we really felt we had that liability.”
The Brookings School Board voted unanimously Monday to pass a $61.6 million budget for the 2025-26 school year, which is around $13 million less than last year’s budget of $74.6 million.
The budget includes federal Title II funding that was recently released after being withheld by the federal government.
Title II money provides grants to increase student achievement, improve quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other school leaders and provide low-income and minority students greater access to effective school leaders.
At the July meeting, members of the School Board weren’t sure if funding would come through, according to a story reported in The Brookings Register.
The school district received $178,361 for Title II on July 30.
The recent closure of The Brookings Register was also discussed. Board member Wesley Tschetter moved to publish last night’s meeting minutes in the Volga Tribune.
Tschetter also moved to create a subcommittee to work with the South Dakota Press Association and the school district for their legal counsel to help navigate the process for the publishing of the necessary notices and minutes required by state law.
Tschetter and board member Cassie Juba will serve on that subcommittee. The minutes for Monday’s meeting will be posted in the Volga Tribune.
In other news at Monday’s meeting, the board invited director of activities Jeff Dvorak to talk about the implementation of a new student, coach and spectator policy for district events.
Dvorak said while students sign a code of conduct to participate in activities, coaches do not and there are no official policies governing next steps if an incident were to occur, Dvorak said.
“I’ve been at 400 games and this has maybe been an issue once or twice,” Dvorak said.
The board and Dvorak agreed there are still specifics to work through regarding the policy. There will be another reading of the policy at the next meeting, Schultz said.
“It’s unfortunate that we have to have something like this, but on the other hand we want to protect our students and our coaches and our fans from a disruptive event,” said School Board president Debra DeBates.
Public comments
Two members of the public spoke to the board, raising concerns about Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) policies and the board’s ethics.
Bess Pallares spoke to the board about potentially harmful policies regarding information posted about students.
“Some items that are included in the (school) district’s directory information are students’ name, address, telephone listing, date and place of birth and also, among other things, most recent educational agency or institution attended,” Pallares said. “I think that’s a little aggressive.”
To compare, SDSU’s directory information includes hometown versus place of birth, Pallares said.
Pallares asked the board to announce when the 2025 policy will be posted.
Malynda Mabbitt of Brookings used her time to question the School Board on their ethics and the firing of Justin Stanley, the former Brookings High School principal. Stanley was fired because of incomplete teacher evaluations, according to a July article in The Brookings Register.
“How many other principals were late or tardy with their teacher evaluations? Where was the administrative support and guidance? Character? What is yours? Are you OK with what happened to Principal Stanley and the conflicts of interest that have been brought up? As somebody who voted for a few of you,” Mabbitt said, “I will say that as of right now, none of you will be getting my vote next.”
B.E.S.T. Award
The board presented a Bobcats Exhibiting Success & Triumphs (B.E.S.T.) Award to Teresa Binkley, who served on the School Board from 2022-2025. Schultz, who nominated Binkley, presented the award.
“This was a fun one to be able to read and share this evening,” Schultz said. “Teresa has served on the Brookings School Board for the past three years and provided outstanding leadership for the board and the district during that time.”
The Monday meeting was the last before school starts on Tuesday, Sept. 3. The next School Board meeting will be Monday, Sept.15, 2025 at Dakota Prairie Elementary School.
