Two Rapid City Area Schools board members were sworn in on Tuesday night to serve three-year terms after a somewhat hectic election in one area. Area 3 Representative Angela Rafferty took the torch from Michael Birkeland and Area 6 Representative Jamie Clapham begins her second term after defeating challenger Brian Johnson 546-543.
Area 6 Representative Jamie Clapham, left, and Area 3 Representative Angela Rafferty, right, were both sworn in Tuesday, July 1 at a board of education meeting.Ā
Johnson said he's frustrated the district allowed Clapham to be sworn in because the recount for their race he requested still hasn't taken place. There's no indication of when it will.
"I believe it is premature to swear in my opponent prior to the completion of the recount," Johnson said in a statement to the Journal. "This action further exemplifies the apparent bias from district leadership regarding their preferred candidate for the role."
The delay has been a byproduct of schedule conflicts and Johnson objecting to four of the five people suggested by the district to represent it as a third-party monitor in the recount. The person Johnson approved of wasn't able to participate in the recount because of scheduling conflicts.
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Brian Johnson, an Area 6 runner-up, called out CFO Coy Sasse and the district for how they handled the recent election at a board meeting Tuesday, June 10.Ā Ā
In a previous statement made to the Journal, the district's chief financial officer, Coy Sasse, said, "The district remains committed to completing the recount as soon as possible so that both candidates can have closure and the voters of Rapid City can have confidence in the final results of the election."
Among the four Johnson rejected is a Meade County poll worker, a district support staff member, and two lawyers Johnson alleged have ties to the district. Johnson approved one suggestion ā a local lawyer who taught at the district decades ago but has no recent affiliations.
"I'm not a conspiracy guy," Johnson said in a June 26 video posted to his Facebook. "... but now we have five choices, all of them leaning that way (toward RCAS) and it's just getting to that point now, especially with this last one, where there's no other option than to believe that they're (RCAS) trying to put their thumb on the scale."
Clapham, meanwhile, has agreed to all five candidates. In a previous statement to the Journal she said, "Mr. Johnson has not provided any concrete or specific reasons for declining the proposed people." Plus, "This process is requiring considerable time and resources that could be going toward preparing for the next school year for our students and staff."
The Tuesday, July 2 board meeting began with Area 1 representative Donna Moore motioning to delay the swearing in until after the recount took place. But after an impromptu executive session to discuss the legal ramifications of doing so, Moore reversed course and the motion failed with a 7-0 vote.
The board meeting eventually shifted, becoming somber and bittersweet as Clapham and other board members thanked Birkeland for his service and unwavering commitment.
Michael Birkeland, a former Area 3 representative, was thanked by board members for his unwavering support and commitment to serving the district during his tenure in the Tuesday, July 1 board meeting.Ā
"You'll always be my board bestie," Clapham said to Birkeland.
"I think you're the real deal," Katy Urban, an Area 7 representative, added.
"Your service has been a great help to me," said Walt Swan, an Area 4 representative.
Birkeland wiped tears away and would shed more tears while reflecting on his tenure in his final time on the dais.
He thanked everyone in the district from board members to teachers. He urged them to keep the momentum going and recounted his own personal growth since he was a deeply "shy" and "closeted" 15-year-old at Central High School to the first openly LGBTQ+ board of education member in RCAS history.
"I hope that for even one kid that I showed what was possible, even in Rapid city where it can be rough to be a gay kid," Birkeland said.
After Birkeland exited the dais, Rafferty, a longtime teacher at RCAS who recently retired, smiled while she took her oath and eventually strolled to her place on the dais to begin her three-year tenure.
