By Carleen Wild,
Moody County Enterprise
One local ballot question voters weighed in on Tuesday was the size of the Flandreau School Board. Local residents approved with nearly 69 percent of the vote, reducing the district’s Board of Education from seven members to five.
Board President Kari Burggraff said that what led to the measure was largely a practical decision. Like many communities, Flandreau has at times struggled to attract multiple candidates for open board seats, with several recent elections featuring little or no competition.
The hope is that a smaller board will make it easier to fill positions in the future and perhaps encourage more contested races when seats come open.
The change will also bring Flandreau in line with many other South Dakota school districts. Brookings, for example, operates with a five-member board despite serving a much larger student population.
Nothing will change immediately. Current board members will complete the terms they were elected to serve, and the board will gradually transition from seven members to five through future election cycles.
Under South Dakota law, school districts may operate with five-, seven- or nine-member boards, but voters must approve any change in board size.