BROOKINGS — A February incident involving a registered sex offender who was invited to speak at Elkton School — and the subsequent Brookings Register report on it — led to both the superintendent and the teacher involved offering their resignations to the Elkton Board of Education.
After a nearly four-hour closed-door special meeting of the board on Wednesday night, board president Derek Frerichs issued a statement late on Thursday afternoon that said they would take up an immediate review of two policies and that Superintendent Brian Jandahl and first-grade teacher Taylor Thompson had offered the board their resignations.
The statement said the board would take up both offers at a future meeting. Notably, the statement said Thompson “has offered her resignation,” while it read that Jandahl “… has communicated to the Board his wish to resign his position, effective upon the Board’s ability to hire a suitable replacement.”
The offers come after a marathon executive session meeting of the Elkton board on Wednesday night.
According to reporting from Jessica J. Jensen, editor of the Elkton Record, the Elkton board opened a special meeting Wednesday night and went immediately into executive session to discuss personnel matters.
That session ran from 6:30 to 10 p.m., with Jandahl joining the meeting from approximately 9:15 to 10 p.m.
There was no time offered for public comment. The chair said a public statement would be made at a later date. All other members offered no comment at that time.
The meeting was called in response to the Register report from April 16 that Andrew Polly, 27, of Brookings, was indicted for loitering in the Elkton School as a registered sex offender who is legally barred from community safe zones.
Then, on April 18, Jandahl sent a letter to Elkton School staff and parents — some of whom were not aware of the incident before — that raised more questions.
In the letter, Jandahl details that Polly was “… invited to speak to Ms. Thompson’s class as a guest speaker. Andrew Polly is an acquaintance of Ms. Thompson. He was under the direct supervision of Ms. Thompson during his entire time in the classroom. At no point was Mr. Polly left unsupervised. He was not loitering as it appeared from the article in the newspaper.”
Loitering, as used in the Register report, has a statutory definition and is, in fact, the charge that Polly faces after the grand jury indicted him.
According to South Dakota Codified Law 22-24B-24, “No person who is required to register as a sex offender as defined in this chapter may loiter within a community safety zone or a public library…”
“Loiter” is defined in 22-24B-22 as “to remain for a period of time and under circumstances that a reasonable person would determine is for the primary purpose of observing or contacting minor…”
The same passage defines “community safe zone” as: “the measurement of a straight line that creates an area that lies within five hundred feet from the facilities and grounds of any school, public park, public playground, or public pool, including the facilities and grounds itself…”
Polly is listed on the South Dakota sex offender registry as restricted from community safe zones following a conviction of felony sexual contact with a minor under 16 from Union County in 2017.
Jandahl’s letter goes on to detail how the incident was reported to both the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office and the State’s Attorney’s Office. A grand jury went on to indict Polly on April 9. A warrant was issued and he was booked into the Brookings County Detention Center.
According to court records, Polly has retained Don McCarty of Brookings as counsel and has a first appearance scheduled for May 20.
Later in the superintendent’s letter to parents he details two new policies he says he wants to approve. The first would provide oversight over classroom speakers, and Jandahl writes “Under the new policy, this guest speaker would not have been approved.”
The second would give the school board “…authority to ban registered sex offenders from school grounds, at school sponsored activities, or any property under the control of the school.”
How this policy would extend or amplify existing state law remains unclear.
The final paragraph of Jandahl’s letter reads as follows:
“The District determined that student safety wasn’t compromised by Andrew Polly speaking to the students, which is why we felt a broader notification wasn’t necessary. We discovered that Mr. Polly’s offense was with a 15-year-old. He was later charged at age 20, which while entirely illegal, did not give the school cause for concern about the ongoing safety of our students as would other offenses.”
Elkton is a K-12 school. According to South Dakota Department of Education records, in 2022-2023 they had an average daily attendance of 116 students in grades 9-12, generally ages 14-18.
The Brookings Register attempted to contact Jandahl via email for comment on the letter on April 22. He responded on April 24 with a request for the questions in writing. The Register obliged and did not receive any comment back.
The statement issued by the Elkton Board of Education on Thursday concluded, “We understand the importance of trust and safety in our educational environment, and we are committed to upholding these pillars to the highest standard. We apologize for any concern this incident may have caused and appreciate the understanding and support of our community as we work to reinforce our commitment to school safety.”
Loitering in a community safe zone while a registered sex offender is a class 6 felony in South Dakota — the lowest level of felony charge. It is punishable by up to two years in prison, a $4,000 fine, or both.
The next regular meeting of the Elkton School Board is May 14 at 6 p.m.
— Linehan is the Register’s managing editor and welcomes comments at jlinehan@brookingsregister.com
