Amendment that would alter how SDHSAA determines enrollment voted down by Aberdeen school board
A proposed amendment that would change the way the South Dakota High School Activities Association figures enrollment was voted down at this week's Aberdeen school board meeting.
The proposal would use participation in the state's free and reduced lunch program to help determine enrolment for SDHSAA events.
The formula could reduce a school’s enrollment numbers by 30%, according to information shared at an SDHSAA meeting earlier this month. An example offered proposed a high school with an enrollment of 400 in which 85% of the students are eligible for a free or reduced-cost lunch. The formula calls for 30 to be multiplied by 0.85 for 25.5. That number is then subtracted from 100 for 74.5. Used as a percentage, 0.745, that number is then multiplied by the enrollment figure, 400, reducing the enrollment number used for classification from 400 to 298.
More: SDHSAA amendment would change formula used to deter mine activities classifications
The rationale for the amendment, as offered by SDHSAA staff and the organization’s Native American Advisory Council says: “We have a number of schools on the line between classifications with large populations of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch. In general, those schools and students have severe discrepancies in access to equipment and school/personal access to outside training opportunities as compared to similar-sized schools with low populations of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch.”
Superintendent Becky Guffin recommended the school board vote no on the amendment after talking about it with other administrators.
Although she said the percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch likely does affect the formation of competitive teams, there are also other factors that come into play.
Board members unanimously voted no on the amendment.
Other more routine SDHSAA amendments, including some Guffin said just cleaned up and clarified language, were also discussed. For any of them to pass, they would have to be approved by 60% of SDHSAA member schools.
Two amendments bring the organization’s bylaws into compliance with current state law regarding home-schooling.
One allows competition by seventh- and eighth-grade students in high school activities if they satisfy SDHSAA’s scholastic standards. Another allows students receiving alternative education to satisfy the scholastic standards for participation.
School board members unanimously approved those and the more routine amendments.
May Overby students learn about disabilities
May Overby Principal Mike Neubert talked to the board about how the school has been returning to normal this past year after a difficult 2020-21 school year because of COVID-19.
Students recently participated in activities that raise awareness about people with disabilities, he said. They did things such as draw with their eyes covered to give them an idea of what visual impairment would be like and shoot a basketball from a wheelchair.
Neubert added that the school will move forward with a plan to replace some new playground equipment in fall. The school has been raising money for the past two years and has about $55,000, he said. Students helped raise some of the money by, for instance, selling candy bars, he said.
This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: No vote on amendment that would have altered how the SDHSAA figures enrollment
