-Brandon Bennett – [email protected]
STURGIS — The three candidates for the Meade 46-1 school board participated in a candidate’s forum at the Williams Middle School board room May 20.
The Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Bureau hosted the forum. Francie Ruebel-Alberts moderated and Richelle Bruch served as timer.
Brian Voight, Tammara Phillips Hannan and Derek Allen answered questions about their candidacies.
Brian Voight is the only incumbent and has three years on the board. Originally from Watertown with years in the South Dakota National Guard, his wife is a teacher in the Meade School District. His goal is to keep moving in the right direction with regard to the district while providing a quality education to students.
Derek Allen moved here from Texas and has two sons who attend Whitewood Elementary School. He works at the Fermi Lab in Lead. He feels the education of students is key to their future and that not just reading and writing but critical thinking is vital in an education.
Tammara Phillips Hannan is originally from Hereford and is married to a military man. She feels her experience in looking for opportunities to help students and acquiring funding is an asset.
The first question dealt with the size of the Meade 46-1 district and how to get to know not just the issues but the people. Derek Allen stated attending as many events as possible is a way to interact with patrons. Tammara Hannan agreed that being among the people is important to learn what’s on their minds. Brian Voight stated understanding people’s priorities and where they stand on an issue can’t be ignored, when it includes people whose school may be closed or budget cut.
Transparency, artificial intelligence, testing, and saying yes to a vote that might upset their own children were just some of the questions asked of the candidates.
In the end, quality education, safety and security, and preparing students for the world outside were the central themes. The full forum can be found on the Chamber’s Facebook page.
