Girls soccer approved for 2026-27 school year

The Lennox School Board met March 9 and approved adding girls soccer.

Activities director Casey Shade said they had more than 40 girls in grades 7-12 sign up on their soccer interest night last week. He said the biggest cost is at the beginning when uniforms and equipment need to be purchased. He is confident they will have people willing to help with funding.

The board approved adding girls soccer for the 2026-27 school year with no financial obligation to the district to start up the program.

Due to the low number of students in fifth grade, the board approved the reduction in force policy and reduced one section of sixth grade for the 2026-27 school year and eliminated Tammy Adney’s position on a 6-1 vote.

The board approved the retirement of Krista Bruggeman and the resignations of Mallory Bohr as C team volleyball coach and Laura Welch as director of student services. They also approved the resignation of Steve Hale as seventh grade boys basketball coach subject to finding a suitable replacement. 

Mallory Bohr also resigned as special education educational assistant.

They approved the certified contract for Paul McVey for drivers education. The board also set the drivers education fee at $255.

They approved the following substitutes for worker’s compensation: Megan Evernote, Chase Faulds, Jennifer Kaderka, Kaitlyn Kummel, Phoebe McKissack and Gayla Wipf.

Superintendent Adam Shaw said since the legislature has not been adequately funding education. Shaw looked at numbers since 2005 and found that the average percentage of funding in that time was 1.21 percent.

Looking at kindergarten numbers for next year, the district is looking at 1,130 students next year which means they will be short on funding. He asked the board to consider what they want to do - continue to make cuts or do an opt-out.

Board president Scott Sandal would like to gather information on what an opt-out would mean and discuss it with the public before taking a board vote.

The board approved the membership agreement with the LTTW Co-op of South Dakota food buying group for foodservice.

They approved the bid from Seal Pros for $527,059.11 to resurface the high school parking lot this summer.

The board approved the superintendent contract extension for the 2027-28 school year.

In his report, junior high/high school principal Chad Allison said he has been working with the chief of police about breathalyzers at prom. This practice is not uncommon in other districts. All students attending prom will need to complete a breathalyzer before entry. Allison said the goal was not to catch kids drinking but to prevent it. The breathalyzers would be done in a private location to maintain student privacy.

Sandal also updated the board on the Digital Age Club, made up of 19 high school students, who are studying infrastructure, community, environment, ownership and commercials on data centers.

The board went into executive session at 7:34 p.m.