Three vying for two school board seats

By Nathan Steele

At the election to be held June 4, voters will get to choose two candidates in the three-person race for the Custer School District Board of Education. Incumbents Jeff Barnes and Jeff Prior are  running along with challenger Heath Reindl. The election is for two three-year terms on the board.
Heath Reindl is a Custer native and manages an electical contracting company in Custer. His wife works for Custer School District, and together they have four children, two of which are currently students in the district.
Jeff Barnes is the current president of the school board and has been a member of the board since 2018.   Barnes also grew up in the district and moved back to the area in 2013 with his wife to raise their two children who are students in the district.
Jeff Prior is the longest-serving member of the board, having been first elected in 2015. He and his wife both live in Custer and have two children who are graduates of Custer High School.
Barnes seeks reelection because he wants to use his gained experience in balancing the school budget to continue to do so.
“Understanding school finance takes time, and I feel I am getting a better understanding and want to be able to use this understanding to help with budgeting and taxes the best I can,” said Barnes.
Prior had similar reasoning in seeking re-election.
“I feel the current board composition is making good decisions for the district. We work well together, and I feel I have a good rapport with the administration, the staff, and our community. I am not afraid to ask hard questions and do so often,” said Prior.
For Reindl, the biggest issues facing the district include protecting “morality and innocence” in students, keeping district finances on track and being mindful of growth in the eastern side of the school district, namely Hermosa.
“One of the biggest things I would like to accomplish on the school board would be to help protect and instill the morality and innocence of our children,” said Reindl.
In interviews with the Chronicle, each candidate highlighted the importance of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) addition project at the Custer Jr./Sr. High School. For Barnes and Prior, reelection would mean getting to “see the CTE project through to the end,” as Barnes put it.
“I look forward to seeing the completion of the new CTE addition to our high school. This is a huge opportunity for the kids in our district to be better prepared, as well as presented with more opportunities and resources than what we can offer currently,” said Prior.
Reindl is also in support of the CTE addition and, if elected, would like the opportunity to help the district get the most bang for its buck on the addition.
“Being in the trades industry, I am all for the CTE addition. I think it will be a great addition to our school curriculum. With that being said, I just want to help make sure the spending is done in the right way so the district gets all they want but still remain in the budget allotted,” said Reindl.
In their previous terms, Barnes and Prior worked on  bringing the new school building to Hermosa.
“I am thankful to have been a part of a team of people who delivered an exceptional new school building for the Hermosa area. Within budget, on time, and within our means are the things not seen on the surface of shiny new things but are just as important,” said Prior.
Barnes said he is “proud of how the Hermosa school expansion turned out and how we as a district pulled through the last few years during the pandemic, keeping the kids in class as much as possible.”
With the new building and with the east side of the county still growing, Reindl said he wants to  “help make sure Hermosa can provide for the children’s needs.”
“Our school district has two different communities with different, distinct needs. I feel as a board member there needs to be focus on both of these communities and the future for both sides of our county,” said Reindl.
Other topics Reindl brought up were the quality of education in the district and wise use of tax dollars.
“I feel like parts of the country are prioritizing pushing immoral social issues rather than focusing on giving the children a good education. I also feel in South Dakota we have done a good job of keeping a lot of those issues out of our schools, and I want to help make sure it stays that way,” said Reindl.
“Right now there is a lot of talk about taxes and how much goes to the school district. I am not here to say that it does not take all that money to run the schools, but also I want to make sure there are checks and balances in place to be sure the monies are being spent the best way for the teachers and the students,” Reindl also said.
With hopeful reelection, Barnes says he hopes to “see the CTE project through to the end and help strengthen the district financially without putting the full burden on tax payers.”
Prior emphasized keeping “local flavor” in the district and keeping parents informed.
“I also look forward to continuing the district’s effort to inform parents and to include them in the education of their children.  Keeping the local flavor of a world class education is how we preserve the best of what Custer has, along with providing the tools needed to live in a rapidly-shrinking world,” said Prior.
Prior and the other candidates also offered thanks to constituents in the district.
“I am thankful for the longevity I have with the board. I believe the continuity brings a relationship with the administration, staff and district. I’m not perfect, but I try very hard to make well-informed decisions. As a taxpayer, a father and member of our community, I fulfill the duties with integrity and a genuine appreciation for the future of our children,” said Prior.
“I want to thank you for considering electing me to our school board,” said Reindl.
“Thank you for the opportunity to serve this community and I hope to serve for another three years,” said Barnes.