STURGIS, S.D. – Twelve individuals are running for the three Meade School District seats up for election on June 2, 2020. Vying for the three 3-year terms are Darrell M. Vig, Mud Butte, prior board member Robert Burns, Black Hawk, new candidates, RJ Ludwick, Sturgis, Brian Voight, Sturgis, Holly Good, Rapid City, prior board member, Terry Koontz, Sturgis, new candidate, Jon Swan, Sturgis, incumbent, Joseph Urbaniak, Union Center, prior board member, Curtis Johnson, Piedmont, additional new candidates, Shelia Trask, Elm Springs, Sara Nelson, Sturgis, and Cody King, Sturgis. For information about polling locations and absentee voting you may visit our web site https://www.meade.k12.sd.us/index.php/school-board/election/ or call the Meade School District Business Office at 605-347-2523.
Darrell M. Vig is a new candidate to the Meade School District school board election. He is married to Tammy with two grown children, and a rancher in rural Meade County. Darrell is running because he cares about the relationships between students, teachers and administration. Mr. Vig states, “The district needs to continue to improve the quality of education by teaching necessary, important subjects to become successful, knowledgeable, productive citizens in our local communities and beyond.” His concerns are that our quality of education needs to adapt and improvise with the challenges facing our world to make sure our district is not “left in the dust” but also plan differently than in the past for the future. Darrell is a part of local churches and organizations along with a local volunteer firefighter.
Robert Burns is a local entrepreneur who served as a prior school board member of 10 years and would like the opportunity to do it again. Bob is married to Mary LaHood with four grown children, all of which attended Meade School District schools. Mr. Burns still believes in giving back to his community, he states that with his prior knowledge he understands the “complexities of our school district and its budgetary needs”. Bob thinks that our district doing great things with our new STEM Labs, but he sees that there needs to be improvements with more technology and being proactive rather than reactive from the ground up. He states, “I’m concerned about what publicly seems like divisions that pit some parts of the district against others… we need to care about every student.” Robert is also a member of Piedmont Valley Lutheran Church Council, elected chairman of the National Forest Advisory Board for the Black Hills National Forest, member of Citizens Advisory Council to the Rapid City Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
RJ Ludwick is running as a second time candidate for the Meade School Board because he values education and wants to demonstrate to his children that if you want to create change, you must be involved. RJ’s wife, Tanya, is the administrative assistant for the Meade School District. They have three children that attend Sturgis Williams Middle School and Sturgis Brown High School. Ludwick owns No Name City Luxury Cabins & RV and coaches youth football and basketball. When asked what good things Meade 46-1 is doing, Ludwick included improving technology, hardware, and expanding the athletic department at the high school. Ludwick believes that the district needs to make more of an effort to help students transition from middle school to high school. Some concerns that RJ has in education are “given South Dakota’s small population and having educational philosophies deeply rooted in tradition, we may be missing opportunities to find alternative methods of teaching children that can be far more effective.” Ludwick is most proud that Meade has engaged teachers who genuinely care about the success of students. RJ states that, “Members of the community should vote for me because I will represent them, listen to them, and advocate on their behalf.”
Brian Voight is a new candidate to the Meade School Board. Brian is employed by the Army National Guard, while his wife, Tamara, is a teacher at Sturgis Williams Middle School. They have three children attending in the Meade School District, one at Sturgis Williams Middle School and two at Sturgis Elementary. Brian not only cares about making sure all the children in our district has a board working for them. He wants the public to know why the district make the decisions it makes and to be a part of those decisions and solutions. “I would like to see more transparency in the School Board decisions … sustainable and educational sound growth must be the goal,” states Brian. Some of the concerns Voight has is, “How do we do better at meeting each student while still staying fiscally responsible?” He would like to put students first every time. Brian is a member of the Wesleyan Life Springs Church.
Holly Good is also a new candidate wishing to be a part of the Meade School Board. She is married to Darin Good with two children, each attending K-12 in our district. One has graduated and the other is attending our high school. Holly is a Special Education teacher in the Douglas School District. She states, “My first love is children, teaching them… with an open mind and patience.” Holly would like to see improvements in the area of student performance and college/career readiness while keeping compassion within the district. Good is a member and secretary at the Black Hawk Community Church, Vice President of the Sturgis AAU Wrestling Club, former board member of the Timberline Little League, and a negotiator for the Douglas Education Association.
Terry Koontz is an entrepreneur and prior school board member and president (1991-2006). She and her husband, Hardy, have four grown children who graduated from Sturgis High School and three grandchildren attend in the Meade School District. Terry would like to make our district better than what it is while being a “steward of the taxpayer’s dollars”. She also would like to improve the morals of our district while still giving our students a very good education to carry them forward in their futures. Koontz would like to see changes “with the student to teacher ratio, having hot lunch available for all students, and improving communications at all levels.” Terry is a member of the Foothills Community Church and the only Meade 46-1 member to earn the South Dakota State School Board Member of the Year in 2005.
Jon Swan is a retired Career and Technology Education teacher from the Meade School District, retired Marine, and entrepreneur. Mr. Swan states, “A quality education for the students within the district is paramount … and we need to provide the staff with the appropriate tools and funding to achieve the goal.” Jon has a no-nonsense attitude when it comes to education with a need for transparency with the tax dollars. As Swan has not held an office, he has encouraged his students to be very involved in community projects from painting soccer fields to planting flowers, to picking up trash and building houses with Habitat for Humanity during his teaching. Per Jon, “Education is the answer. How you define that is up to you. It is our job to prepare the student for college or career.”
Joseph Urbaniak, a rancher, is our only incumbent. He is running for re-election because he wants students to receive a high-quality of education, if not better than himself. Joe’s wife, Missy, is a teacher in our rural schools and has three children attending Meade Schools. He currently has a son at the High School and one in the rural schools. Urbaniak is concerned about our student to teacher ratio, and the non-unity of our district. His goal would be to promote positive changes for all in our district. Joe is the current Vice President of our school board, a volunteer firefighter and EMT, and a 4-H shooting sports instructor with the Meade County Shooters. He helped establish the Rural Meade County Parent Teacher Organization for which he has served as president. He is also a member of the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.
Curtis Johnson is a prior school board member and entrepreneur. He and his wife, Pamela, of 52 years have three grown children and grandchildren. Curtis has no set agenda but would like to improve upon the retention of High School Students in our district. He states, “We need to be accountable to the students and parents of those students …to be productive citizens with a fair chance to succeed in life.” The school board needs to work as a team. Curtis is also a member of the Piedmont Valley Lutheran Church, co-chair of the Piedmont Valley Food Pantry, Piedmont Ambulance Tax District Board President, Western Junior Livestock Show Director, Central States Fair & Black Hills board member, Rapid City Masonic Lodge #25, and Black Hills Scottish Rite of Masonry.
Shelia Trask is a first time Meade School District school board candidate. Mrs. Trask is a rancher, works part time at the Philip Livestock, and at the Belle Fourche Livestock. She and her husband, Tom, have three children and two grandchildren. She thinks the student to teacher ratio needs to be improved upon along with a maximum of 25 students per classroom. Trask believes that our students are getting a good education and the staff and students have adjusted well with the recent COVID issues. Shelia thinks that it is very important for the district to keep education as the top priority. Other community involvements of Ms. Trask’s are Elm Springs Hall Board Member, St. Margaret’s’ Church, volunteer EMT, Smithville Township Treasurer, and Elm Springs Fire Department Member.
Sara Nelson is a Human Resource Director and Office Manager for Interim Healthcare. She and her husband, Jim, have two children that graduated from Sturgis High School, and she and Jim are both alumni from Sturgis High School also. Sara brings to the table her prior experience of teaching at the district with desires to give the students quality education, with the resources and technology needed to achieve that goal. Nelson is a volunteer at Black Hills Trails and a Professional Member of the Society of Human Resource Management both at the local and national levels.
Cody King is an entrepreneur and the City of Sturgis Superintendent of Parks. He is also a former Meade School District Staff Member and Administrator. He and Julie, his wife, have two daughters. Faith is a student at Sturgis Williams Middle School and Elle is a student at Sturgis Elementary. Cody would like to improve our district by “using our resources where they are needed the most and helping the students in as many ways that we can.” He wants to maintain and hire the best teachers possible while using funding wisely on items that are needed. King is proud of how the district ensures all students have great staff with a “district so far spread out and still brings them together as one”.
