Harrisburg School Board earns state award for efforts to enhance knowledge

HARRISBURG, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Harrisburg School Board members were honored by the Associated School Boards of South Dakota for their collective efforts to enhance their knowledge of school board work throughout the 2021-22 school year.

The Harrisburg School Board earned a Bronze level award in ASBSD’s statewide board recognition program for the board’s effective work and leadership in public education at the local, state, and national levels throughout the previous school year.

“School boards take on different tasks and face new challenges every year, and the Harrisburg School Board members put in a lot of work to further their knowledge of and learn new things about school board work that will be a great benefit to their district,” ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany said. “They’ve put in time and effort to better themselves and deserve this recognition.”

The schools are measured based on the ALL point system, which stands for Act, Learn, Lead. The Harrisburg School Board earned 335 points which qualified them for the Bronze level award.

In 2021-22 a record 91 public school boards – more than 60 percent of the public boards in South Dakota – earned an ALL award. This is the Harrisburg School Board’s sixth ALL award, which is one for every year of the ALL award program.

“South Dakota public school boards do amazing work and put in a great deal of effort for their students, staff and community members and for more than 90 of them to earn this honor is a testament to that effort,” Pogany said. “The Harrisburg School Board is as dedicated a group as you’ll find, having earned this award every year since it began. Their commitment to excelling in their work as school board members year in and year out is incredible.”

ASBSD is a private, non-profit association representing more than 850 South Dakota school board members, the 149 schools they govern, and the students they serve.