A little of their own medicine

Half of Rapid City's Republican Power Couple just got a taste of what it's like to hold a minority opinion in South Dakota. And it isn't pretty.

The most visible sign of discontent came Thursday night from board member Sheryl Kirkeby in the form of a public two page letter that she distributed at the meeting. Kirkeby is a long-time board member and served as president before Wes Storm was voted in as president in July.

And in my humble opinion, she seems more than a bit whiney about it, considering what Eric Abrahamson said about his school board experience, which squares with what I've heard from other former school board members:those in charge have no problems with closed meetings, as long as their in them. Not unusual in these parts.

“I experienced the same kind of frustrations Sheryl is experiencing now that she’s not on the facilities committee,” he said. “When board members who haven’t been on the committees see the information, they see it in the context of a board meeting when they’re being asked to vote on something.

Details on the board's sturm und drang in an excellent Page One article by Kayla Gehagan:

Signs of discord emerge at school board meeting -
Kirkeby: 'No fair not being at the cool kid's table! 'We need better communication'
Rapid City Journal 09/05/2009

Sounds like what life is like for a Democratic legislator in Pierre, or even a thinking minority Republican anywhere west of the Missouri.

Fortunately, the important thing going on is not the whining, it's that the current school board is actually trying to move forward with needed decisions on facilities. And it's about time.

You can get more details at ourrapidcityschools.org.