Kent Alberty and Carly Reiter retain their seats on the Sioux Falls School Board after the voters spoke on Tuesday.

Alberty grabbed the most votes (6,943) for 38 percent of the vote. Reiter was second (4,522) by obtaining almost 25 percent of the tally. Randy Dobberpuhl was the first candidate on the outside with not quite 19 percent with Diana Stelling (12.5 percent) and Peter Vaughn Pischke (5.6 percent) rounding out the field.

As five candidates vying for two open seats on the Sioux Falls school board, Dr. Brian Maher, superintendent of the Sioux Falls Public Schools, says this is an important election for the community.

“We have five elected officials and they are there to make sure that we do what the city wishes. I think the fact that we have 40 percent of those seats or two of the five available make it a significant issue for our school system.”

So, what about residents that don’t have children enrolled in the public school system? Just how important is the election for them?

“There is one place right away where that is affected and that is the school board has the primary fiduciary role. Certainly when it comes to the pocketbooks of all taxpayers in the district---that’s a primary function. They also set the policy, the in’s and out’s on how we are doing to act in our schools. If you have a school in your neighborhood, you are certainly impacted from the way that the building is run as well.”

As far as the stated goals of those who will take their seats for the next three years, both the students and the staff will gain the attention of the School Board.

Kent Alberty: “I want to make sure that our kids who are not in the very best situation get a great education that will help them to a better life and more success. Of course, I want to continue to work with all the employees in the district to make sure that they are being treated fairly and they are being paid competitive salaries---rewarding them for the hard work and professionalism that they show every day.”

Carly R. Reiter: “I really want to continue on with all the initiatives we have right now. We are in the middle of our strategic planning process which is going to bring some exciting changes---new things like the summer school we are starting for some of our lower income, struggling students. We have more types of those things in the works. I am excited to be part of the success of Sioux Falls.”

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