Winner, SD Open Meeting on Hands-On Tech/adult Education October 2, 2016

The proposal to utilize the abandoned Winner Middle School as a regional tech center has gained proponents since first proposed by Chuck Noble a year or two ago.  Events in the state have made the idea better as well.  Governor Daugaard is pushing Tech education and T. Denny Sanford and his organizations are putting money into tech scholarships and aid.  Tie that together with an available facility in Winner and a number of school boards with large reserves, and we have a favorable situation which has never existed before in south-central South Dakota since legislation years ago formulated the idea of Tech schools.  My deceased friend Lowdon Heller was in the SD Legislature near that time.  The problems preventing a tech school in this district at that time no longer exist.

The Public Meeting to Discuss Hands-On Technical Education will be held Sunday, October 2, 2016- 2:00- 4:00 PM CDT at the Tripp County 4-H Center at 815 West 12th Street, Winner, SD.
Chuck Noble will chair the meeting and the purposes are to discuss, plan and develop a regional Hands-On Technical/Adult education program and system.  The Agenda includes:  

• Forming 501(c)(3) non-profit entities or Local Education Agency (LEA)
• Forming a board of directors
• Developing programs, classes, and certifications
• Speakers include Barry Grossenburg on More Education--More Opportunity and the floor will be open to the audience for other speakers as well.
• Developing plans to utilize facility--former Winner Middle School
• Developing financing for facility and students--Tuition, Grants, subsidies, Foundations, Donations, cost-sharing with school districts, and company partnerships.
• Summary.

Information printed handouts will be available. They include 501-C3 non-profit regulations, Curriculum examples from other Technical school Programs, The Regional  Tech Education Center (Yankton) development history, and Grant Examples.

More information will be available here with links to be below.  We also hope to have bottled water and cookies or something similar available, but those details are still in the air.  Whatever, we hope to see many people and potential students  from the region who recognize the education, social, and economic benefits possible from a Winner, SD Regional Tech/Adult Education Center.

Note: Pages of information can now be reached directly by Page Links at upper right of blog.

Page for Education Priorities on 25% limitation of school fund reserves
Page of Reference Links to Example Tech/VoTech studies, Tuition
Page with Description of 501(C)(3) Organization
History of Yankton, SD Regional Technical Education Center

Check the New Education Priorities PAGES on SD Open Meetings

This may not be the perfect approach for providing detailed information, but it is a first step.  On separate pages for this blog, I have posted information from the SD Press Association, the SD Attorney General office and others including SD Codified Law.  It is here in format easier to view and use than is the original site which appears to be set up for use as an advertisement in papers to support open meetings and government transparency or in multiple areas of the SD Code.  I hope SD Citizens including teachers, school board members and school administrators find the information useful.
1_Education Priorities Page with SD Press Info on Rules and Regulations for Open Meetings.
2_And from SD Codified laws and regulations, this on Schools, School Boards, Management, etc.
3. Letters to Winner Advocate concerning Fourth athletic facility--a $2 Million proposal

I hope you find the information useful.  If this works as hoped, expect more information in such a format.

Welcome and Info..changes to come

Right now, this is primarily a place holder.  We hope to make significant changes to template and colors, etc.

We expect posts to mainly concern education with attention primarily to K-12 systems and possible extensions such as tech schools, extended education, technology, balance of athletics and academics, stress on science, technology, engineering, and math...often indicated as STEM.

Education funding, staffing, management, control, waste, inefficiency, faulty priorities, etc. may be topic areas.

This blog is intended to primarily relate to education in South Dakota, but main emphasis or examples will likely relate to Winner (SD) Public Schools.

Stay tuned.  Comments and suggestions welcome.  If you are interested in adding posts, let us know.