Belle Fourche superintendent Steve Willard resigns from Board of Education Standards

In the first meeting the Board of Education Standards has held since five of its seven members voted to approve a controversial set of social studies standards, one of the last remaining educators on the board announced his resignation.

Belle Fourche school district superintendent Steve Willard announced in Monday morning’s meeting that it would be his last meeting with the board as he resigned effective that day for “personal reasons.”

“I do not have the time needed to do this board justice,” Willard said, thanking Gov. Kristi Noem for appointing him in March 2021 and thanking past BOES presidents Jackie Sly, Becky Guffin and Terry Nebelsick for their “leadership and dedication to education in South Dakota.”

Willard added that the board will have many challenges in the future, and he wished his fellow board members the “best of luck.”

Willard’s replacement on the board is yet to be determined. His term was scheduled to end Dec. 31, 2024.

As Willard leaves the board, he leaves behind two other career educators: board president Terry Nebelsick, the former superintendent of Huron School District, and board member Linda Olsen, whose teacher and administrator certificate is active until July 2024. Nebelsick and Olsen’s terms on the board end Dec. 31, 2024.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Belle Fourche superintendent leaves Board of Education Standards