Published: Monday, March 18, 2013 1:07 AM CDT

After Dakota Educational Consulting, the firm leading the search for a new Yankton School District superintendent, posted a survey for community and faculty members to take about a month ago about the search for a new superintendent, the Press & Dakotan has learned the results of the survey.

The survey of community members featured 276 respondents, while the faculty survey had 245 respondents.

Rick Melmer, who is helping to lead the YSD search with the consulting firm, said the surveys will help a lot during the search.

“The survey helps us as we formulate questions for the candidates when we screen and do phone interviews,” he said. “It’s also probably helpful for the school board so that they know what qualities are most important in a superintendent from the perspective of faculty and community members.”

Questions included a list of options, and respondents could check all areas that applied to the next superintendent.

However, one question was open-ended and asked about the issues or topics that are important for the next superintendent to know. A final question asked respondents to rate each quality in terms of how necessary it is for the next leader of YSD to have.

Eighty-three percent of community respondents felt the next superintendent should be a good communicator. Seventy-eight percent said the next superintendent should be good with budget skills, while 74 percent said he/she should have strong interpersonal skills.

Other qualities community members want in the next superintendent include being involved in the community (71 percent), being a visionary for the district (65 percent), acting as an instructional leader (49 percent), being articulate and well-spoken (49 percent), and being courageous (36 percent).

YSD faculty members had somewhat similar answers for the qualities they want in their next leader.

Ninety-two percent of faculty members said they believe the next superintendent should be a good communicator, 80 percent felt he/she should have strong interpersonal skills and 77 percent of faculty respondents felt the next superintendent should have strong budget skills.

In addition, 70 percent of faculty members thought the next leader of YSD should be involved in the community, 65 percent said he/she should be a visionary and 57 percent felt the next superintendent should be well-spoken.

A minority of faculty respondents thought the next YSD superintendent should be an instructional leader or be courageous.

Another question asked faculty and community members how they felt the success of the superintendent after a year on the job should be determined.

Eighty-seven percent of faculty respondents felt as if success after one year should be determined based on employees being satisfied, 85 percent felt it should be based off of school culture, while 51 percent said success should be determined based on how satisfied community members are.

On the other hand, community members felt as if success should be determined based off of a positive school culture (84 percent), a solid financial base (67 percent) and satisfied employees (63 percent).

The issues that faculty respondents thought it would be most important for the new superintendent to know included, in order of popularity, budget issues, lack of community support, low staff morale, failed opt-outs, salary issues and lack of communication.

The most important issues community members felt the new superintendent should know about included budget issues, drugs and alcohol issues among students, lack of community support, low staff morale, failed opt-outs and the need to keep extra-curricular activities.

Community members also thought the traits that are most essential for the new superintendent to have include being honest and trustworthy, good communication skills, good with fiscal management, being accessible and being a visionary for the district.

Faculty respondents thought the most essential traits are being a good communicator, being honest and trustworthy, having good interpersonal skills, being good with fiscal management and acting as a visionary.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

Published: Thursday, March 14, 2013 9:20 PM CDT

When John and James Abrams were growing up in Canada, seeing their parents and grandparents play music was the inspiration for the children to take up careers in the music industry.

“We would all listen to my parents and grandparents when they would have practice in our living room,” John Abrams said. “My mom asked if we wanted to play the violin when we were really young, and that’s how we began playing music.”

John and James Abrams went on tour and would perform a few songs with their parents, which were some of their first shows before they became the Abrams Brothers touring group.

They’ll continue their tour at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Yankton at the Dakota Theatre as part of the Lewis and Clark Theatre Company’s concert series.

“We are excited to bring a group that we believe are going to become very famous in the not-so-distant future,” said Shauna Marlette, managing director of the Lewis and Clark Theatre Company. “The group currently has a video that is being featured on Country Music Television’s Top 20 countdown, which we believe is just the first of many for them.”

Marlette said she hopes that the community turns out to support the Abrams Brothers concert as they will entertain all ages and she really believes that they will put on an amazing show.

“Their style of music is just so fun and easy to listen to,” she said. “If you like music — any style of music — I believe you will love the Abrams Brothers. They are great musicians and you can tell that they love doing what they are doing.”

The Abrams Brothers have been on the road playing music for about the last 11 years.

“We’ve been playing longer than that, but our band and touring act has been around for 11 years,” John Abrams said. “We still play music with our family when we’re home, and we’re now the fourth generation to play music.”

The Abrams Brothers just released their fourth studio album, “Northern Redemption,” in September.

“The music on the new record is mainly bluegrass, with old folk and gospel influences,” Abrams said. “It’s a real blend of that, with some contemporary styles. We think the album is really creating original Abrams Brothers music.”

With bands like The Lumineers and Mumford and Sons, considered a bluegrass and folk bands, recently producing the chart-topping hits “I Will Wait” and “Ho Hey,” the genres have enjoyed a renaissance with mainstream music.

“It’s fantastic that bluegrass and folk has been coming back the last few years,” Abrams said. “It’s inevitable, in a way; a generation of people have been fed so much plastic from the pop media outlets. People start turning to things organic and authentic again.”

He compared this movement to the disco generation of the 1970s.

“It was a counter-culture movement that came into the spotlight,” Abrams said. “People had a desire to listen to bands that played more authentic music, like The Eagles, for instance. It became a craze, and bands started playing music that was more traditional.”

He said he feels like this is happening again with bluegrass and folk music.

“To see attention given to the bluegrass, folk and Americana styles of music from our peer groups is real encouraging and it makes us feel great,” Abrams said. “We use that as a jumping-off point as far as our musical creativity goes.”

One of the Abrams Brothers’ favorite shows was at a festival in Israel.

“We’ll be going back for the fourth time this year to headline the Jacob’s Ladder Music Festival, which features a lot of folk music and is right on the Sea of Galilee,” Abrams said. “It’s a lot of fun, not just musically. There is a profound history in that region and it feels like you’ve just stepped into a place where you’re so small in the grand spectrum of history.”

One of the Abrams Brothers’ other favorite shows came when they first performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Abrams said they became the youngest Canadians to play the venue, and enjoyed the experience playing on the same stage that many legendary artists have.

Abrams said the style of music the band plays never changes, regardless of show venue.

“The genesis of our music and where we started is that, even though we might play a festival with crowds of 50,000, or a theater with only a few hundred, our style of music is very much about the sense of community you get between artist and performer,” he said. “It’s the kind of music that’s conceptually accessible. People sitting in the audience can see something tangible and real, it’s not just smoke and mirrors.”

The Abrams Brothers also thrive on the sense of authenticity in their music at live shows.

“The core of organic sensibility in our music is still very prevalent,” Abrams said. “We have spent our lives devoting ourselves to the idea that it’s integral for a musician’s career to build a relationship with a live audience.”

He said he also enjoys storytelling during the shows.

“People will hear stories of how our songs came together, and stories from our past and present,” Abrams said. “Our goal for the audience at our shows has always been to have people be positively touched by our music. If we’re able to do that, we’ve accomplished what we’ve set out to do.”

Tickets for Monday’s concert are available by calling the Lewis and Clark Theatre box office at 605-665-7811 or by emailing Marlette at lctc@midconetwork.com with the number of seats you would like to reserve.

“We are doing reserved seating for this concert,” Marlette said. “There are still good seats available, but we hope that by Monday we can say they are limited.”

For more information on the Abrams Brothers, log on at abramsbrothers.com or check them out on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or MySpace.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

Published: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 1:07 AM CDT

The Yankton Community Library will screen a version of the documentary ‘Bully’ Thursday in hopes of raising awareness about bullying and the seriousness of the issue.

The screening will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the library on 515 Walnut. Yankton police officer and DARE officer Jeff Johnson and Lewis and Clark Behavioral Health services counselor Stephanie Lund will be available after screening to facilitate a discussion and answer questions.

“The movie is a 99-minute documentary about five students from different parts of the country who were bullied at school for various reasons,” said Kathy Jacobs, director of the Yankton Community Library. “Some of the reasons why kids were bullied in the film are because of their sexual orientation, looks or size. Two of the families that appear in the documentary have children who committed suicide because of the bullying that took place against them.”

One of the students followed in the documentary is from Sioux City. He was a middle school student who was bullied in the hallways, playground and on the school bus. The film features footage from the bus and how he was bullied on bus rides to and from school.

“The documentary is really about how bullying takes place. There are no good answers as to why, but the film shows the different settings in which it takes place,” Jacobs said. “It shows how parents weren’t always aware of the seriousness of everything going on. Sometimes parents would go to school boards and principals, and (discover) how the topic may not have been taken seriously.”

Jacobs said she hopes the film screening allows parents to become more aware of what their children may be going through. She hopes students that are being bullied will have the power to speak up and tell an adult, and she also hopes that students who bully others will see how it affects people and stop doing it.

“I have all kinds of goals for the screening,” Jacobs said. “The movie is appropriate for those in upper elementary grades on through adults. I think everyone that comes to watch the film can take something away from it.”

She hopes that the movie might influence communication opening up between parents and kids about what might be happening with children while they’re in school.

“Our job as a library is to help educate the community,” Jacobs said. “The subject of bullying might not be something everyone will be interested in. Some might have questions about the subject but won’t want to come in to a public viewing, so hearing about the movie might make them check it out on their own.”

In addition to the movie, the library will have the book, that goes along with the film available and will have resources for adults on how to deal with the situation if their child is a bully or being bullied.

“It’s a difficult subject to talk about, and I tend to get very passionate about it, but I just hope that people have the courage to come out to see the film,” Jacobs said. “People can come see the film out of curiosity, or if they feel like they want to learn more about the topic or do something about it.”

For more information, contact the library at 668-5276.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

Published: Tuesday, March 12, 2013 1:07 AM CDT

From P&D Staff Reports

The Yankton School District (YSD) school board will meet Monday at 5:30 p.m. to discuss changing the high school language arts curriculum, how the sequester could impact YSD and will hear a report on the summer food program and new school lunch guidelines.

Board members will also accept the resignation of two staff members, accept a project development agreement, consider early retirement requests and lease Crane Youngsworth Field for a circus this summer.

The meeting will be held at the administration building located at 2410 West City Limits Road.

Published: Friday, March 8, 2013 1:07 AM CST

From P&D Staff Reports

Yankton High School (YHS) principal Wayne Kindle was not offered the superintendent position at Norfolk Public Schools.

An announcement was made on Thursday that Jami Jo Thompson, who is currently the director of student programs for Beatrice Public Schools, has been offered the superintendent’s post at Norfolk. Thompson would take over for Marlene Uhing, who is retiring at the end of the school year.

Kindle said he has also applied for the Yankton School District superintendent opening.

Published: Friday, March 8, 2013 1:07 AM CST

The South Dakota Legislature approved spending more than $6 million in one-time funding to provide aid to technical schools and school districts. The amount equates to around $45 per student across the state.

The funding could help Yankton School District (YSD) close its nearly $1.6 million budget shortfall.

The House approved the measure 65-3, and will now become law if Gov. Dennis Daugaard signs the bill.

YSD school board president Chris Specht said any money allocated by the Legislature is appreciated by all districts across the state. However, he said one-time money also has its downfalls.

“The problem with one-time money is it does not allow districts to plan for the future, nor does it help reduce the 10 percent revenue cut from prior years,” Specht said. “We all want more from our government, but no one wants their taxes to increase and no one wants their benefits cut.”

The school state aid formula is based in part on a per-student allotment. That allotment increases annually by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), or 3 percent, whichever is less. For this year’s overall state budget, Daugaard recommends a 3 percent ongoing increase in state aid to school districts.

In FY 2012, Daugaard announced funding cuts across the board, which included cuts to education. Schools across the state were projecting about a 5 percent decrease to funding, but that decrease turned out to be more than 8.5 percent.

“If the state does give out one-time money, it’s based on next fall’s student enrollment,” YSD business manager Jason Bietz said. “If the $45 per student becomes law, you make an assumption, based on today’s enrollment, that this would bring around $118,000 to Yankton School District.”

However, Bietz is not ready to take that figure to the bank.

“We really don’t know what to fully expect yet, since the bill hasn’t been signed by the governor and we don’t know all the details surrounding the one-time money,” he said. “We appreciate one-time money, but we’re still searching for a long-term solution.”

The bill spends around $5.8 million, which gives districts an additional 1 percent increase in aid. It also allocates technical schools an additional $200,000 and gives the Teach for America program $250,000.

YSD school board member Jim Fitzgerald said he appreciates the one-time allotment from Pierre.

“The one-time moneys, we will certainly take and is nice to have,” he said. “The issue is, one-time money is nothing you can plug into the budget that can impact ongoing expenses.

“Anything the state wants to share with us is great, and we’ll certainly take it, but that’s probably about 10 percent or less of what our budget shortfall will be,” Fitzgerald said. “We will have to get creative with how we’ll balance the budget. We need to do what’s right for the district and figure out how to close the gap.”

Specht wondered when the lawmakers will put a priority on education funding across the state.

“How large do we allow our class sizes to get, and how many programs are eliminated before parents in our state tell their elected representatives to make K-12 education funding a higher priority?” he asked.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

From P&D Staff Reports

The Yankton County Red Cross will hold its annual benefit featuring dinner and a performance by The Midnight Swinger 6 p.m. Friday at Minerva’s.

According to The Midnight Swinger’s website, “he combines the style and cool of a 60’s Las Vegas performer with the flash and excitement of a 21st century Super Bowl halftime extravaganza.” In addition to being a stand-up comedian, he considers himself a throwback entertainer doing more than just jokes and leaves the audience “laughin’, singin’ and swingin’.”

Tickets for the event are on sale now. Dinner will feature cod risotto and steak tips with onions and mushrooms along with a salad, bread and a potato vegetable medley. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Yankton County Red Cross.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 664-2244.

Published: Thursday, March 7, 2013 1:07 AM CST

Due to security and logistical concerns, local city and county officials have decided to no longer use Yankton schools as polling stations.The Yankton County Commission discussed the development Tuesday after being made aware that a decision was made by election officials to remove Yankton Middle School (YMS) from the list of polling stations.

During the general election of 2012, Yankton County, in collaboration with the Secretary of State, piloted the e-pollbook and voting center concept. By virtue of the new concepts, there is less of a need for as many precincts and voting centers.

“With the new concept in place, voters in a jurisdiction can go to any voting center to cast their ballots,” Yankton School District (YSD) business manager Jason Bietz said. “At a polling place, they will sign in through the e-pollbook and the polling center will have record of them voting. This replaces the need for precincts.”

Following the Sandy Hook school shooting in December, Bietz met with Yankton County Auditor Paula Jones and city Finance Officer Al Viereck to discuss safety concerns with the use of schools as polling places.

During their meeting, officials agreed that the city and school elections in the spring should also use the polling center concept in order to save money.

“As part of the meeting, we all evaluated logical polling sites. The concerns we have for some of the sites include accessibility, being single story and having sufficient access to restrooms,” Bietz said. “This gets us down to only a handful of eligible places to use as potential polling centers.”

Officials came to the conclusion that YMS and Lincoln Elementary School were not ideal polling centers because of logistics for the district. There is not enough parking and little access to restrooms, but district officials made it work in the past because they felt it was important to the   community.

Bietz, Viereck and Jones have mutually agreed to start getting elections out of school buildings.

“When you have a polling center in a school, you have people coming and going freely,” Bietz said. “We have never had an incident in Yankton where we needed to lock down the school on election day, but it would really hurt the election process if that happened.”

One of the new polling centers will be the Yankton County 4-H building, and the school board will utilize it for its upcoming election.

The other polling stations the county has designated for its elections are JoDean’s Steakhouse and Lounge, the Gayville Community Center, Broomtree Farms, the Lesterville Fire Station and The Rock House in the Lewis and Clark Lake area.

This differs from the polling stations that will be used in the school district’s and City of Yankton’s April elections. The only polling stations April 9 will be the 4-H facility, city hall and JoDean’s.

“There are not a lot of facilities in town that can be used for election centers,” Bietz said. “I’m not anticipating that we’ll be using school spaces again. We will continue to evaluate each election cycle based on turnout.”

During Tuesday’s County Commission meeting, Commissioner Mark Johnson said it was suggested that the county work with the district to potentially use the school administration building as a polling location.

“I don’t know if that helps us any for our elections to replace the middle school, since it is way over on the west edge of town,” he said. “However, they have plenty of room and there is a large conference room we can use.”

New potential voting center sites discussed by the commission included the Yankton Mall, Chan Gurney Airport, Hillcrest Golf Course or the NFAA Archery Center. However, commissioners expressed a desire to have a polling station on the northeast side of Yankton.

“We should be thinking about this while driving around town,” commissioner Donna Freng said.

P&D reporter Nathan Johnson contributed to this report.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

Published: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 1:07 AM CST

From P&D Staff Reports

During an executive session at a Yankton School District (YSD) special school board meeting on Monday night, no deal was struck between teachers and the school board on a new contract.

The school board and teachers are tentatively scheduled to get together at 5:30 p.m. March 20 to continue negotiations.

Board President Chris Specht said he could not comment on negotiations during the process, but said there is no deadline for a new contract and both sides will continue to work towards that mutual goal.