Rapid City School District

September is school attendance awareness month, and while some school districts earn Blue Ribbon distinctions for their work on keeping classrooms filled, Rapid City has struggled.

Rapid City has shown an aversion to passing school bond votes in the past, but district leaders say infrastructure improvements can’t wait - and are too costly to accomplish without a big investment.

School bond votes can often close the gap between cash-strapped school districts and much-needed infrastructure upgrades. In Rapid City, it’s been over a half century since the last bond passed.

The back-to-school season means new faces, and challenges, in all of South Dakota’s schools. For the new superintendent in Rapid City, it also means stepping up to the new role.

She says the district is right on the cusp of major change for the better.

The Rapid City Area School district has had its share of criticism this year, and the biggest piece of that is now before the courts. In a lawsuit, the former superintendent alleges pay disparities and her unlawful termination.

The Rapid City Area Schools board is hiring the district’s next superintendent.

The Rushmore Rotary pledges $500,000 to the new Children’s Home Society Campus in Rapid City.

South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds is introducing legislation to eliminate the federal Department of Education. However, some educators are raising questions about the idea.

Rapid City Area Schools have received a million-dollar grant to bolster local school safety. The money, and the associated changes, will be distributed over the next three school years.