Evaluation of South Dakota school district websites

My Government Website
Transparency Checklist How to evaluate websites Progress reports County website project County comparison chart City website project List of cities School district website project List of school districts
Action steps

This page captures a snapshot of the information contributed by Sunshine Review users after they've studied the information made available on South Dakota school district websites.

See also: School districts websites, state-by-state comparison, to compare what you can find on South Dakota' school district websites to what can be found on school district websites in other states.

Reading the chart

In the chart below:

	means that information is included on the government website
	means that the information was not provided on the government website
P	means that information was partially provided

Check the Sunshine Review page about each school district for more detailed information about what information is available on the school district website, along with recommendations SR users have made for positive changes.

• See sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard

Conclusions chart

2012

In 2012, Sunshine Review evaluated the ten largest school districts in South Dakota: Sioux Falls School District, Rapid City Area School District, Watertown School District, Aberdeen School District, Yankton School District, Meade School District, Brookings School District, Pierre School District, Mitchell School District, and Brandon Valley School District. These school districts averaged a C- website transparency grade.

	Taxes?	Budget?	Meetings?	Elected officials?	Admin. Officials?	Contracts?	Audits?	Public records?	Academics?	Background checks?
Y	2	5	9	7	7	1	4	1	7	5
P	0	3	1	3	3	2	2	1	0	0
N	8	2	0	0	0	7	4	8	3	5

Comparison chart

School district	Grade	Taxes	Budget	Meetings	Elected Officials	Admin. Officials	Contracts	Audits	Public records	Academics	Background checks
Aberdeen School District, South Dakota	C	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	P	P	P	Y	Y
Brandon Valley School District, South Dakota	A-	Y	Y	P	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Brookings School District, South Dakota	D	N	Y	Y	Y	P	N	N	N	Y	N
Meade School District, South Dakota	C	Y	Y	Y	P	Y	N	Y	N	Y	N
Mitchell School District, South Dakota	D-	N	N	Y	P	Y	N	N	N	Y	N
Pierre School District, South Dakota	D	N	P	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	Y	N
Rapid City Area School District, South Dakota	D-	N	P	Y	Y	Y	N	P	N	N	N
Sioux Falls School District, South Dakota	B	Y	Y	P	Y	Y	P	Y	Y	Y	Y
Watertown School District, South Dakota	D-	N	N	Y	Y	P	N	N	N	N	Y
Yankton School District, South Dakota	C-	N	P	Y	P	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y

All rated districts

Comparison chart

School district	Grade	Taxes	Budget	Meetings	Elected Officials	Admin. Officials	Contracts	Audits	Public records	Academics	Background checks
Aberdeen School District, South Dakota	C	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	P	P	P	Y	Y
Brandon Valley School District, South Dakota	A-	Y	Y	P	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Brookings School District, South Dakota	D	N	Y	Y	Y	P	N	N	N	Y	N
Meade School District, South Dakota	C	Y	Y	Y	P	Y	N	Y	N	Y	N
Mitchell School District, South Dakota	D-	N	N	Y	P	Y	N	N	N	Y	N
Pierre School District, South Dakota	D	N	P	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	Y	N
Rapid City Area School District, South Dakota	D-	N	P	Y	Y	Y	N	P	N	N	N
Sioux Falls School District, South Dakota	B	Y	Y	P	Y	Y	P	Y	Y	Y	Y
Watertown School District, South Dakota	D-	N	N	Y	Y	P	N	N	N	N	Y
Yankton School District, South Dakota	C-	N	P	Y	P	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y

Correcting errors

If you discover an error in this chart or on one of the articles about an South Dakota school district, you can correct it immediately or report the error.