A LEGISLATIVE COMMEMORATION, Commending and honoring Michael (Mike) Denker, a member of the Wagner School District Board of Education, on his selection as the Associated School Boards of South Dakota Outstanding School Board Member of South Dakota for 2013.

    WHEREAS, Mike Denker has served his community and the students of the Wagner School District for more than thirteen years on the school board; and

    WHEREAS, Mike Denker began an educational program for all board members, and under his leadership, the Wagner School Board was the first in the state of South Dakota to have the entire board GAVEL I and II Training certified; and

    WHEREAS, Mike Denker has been a critical part of the implementation of a free preschool program for more than one hundred three and four-year-olds and of JAGS, the Jobs for America's Graduates Program; and

    WHEREAS, Mike Denker is a strong advocate of the importance of policy, good relationships between board members and the superintendent, data-driven decision making, and staff professional development; and

    WHEREAS, Mike Denker supported the attendance of the superintendent and business manager at state and national events that allowed them to provide the expertise necessary for the school district to continue to receive Impact Aid payments when it was believed that the school district was no longer eligible for the entire payment:

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT COMMEMORATED, by the Eighty-Eighth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, that, during 2013, Mike Denker of Wagner, South Dakota, is hereby an official representative of the state, and shall continue in his efforts to seek improvement of the educational opportunities for the elementary and secondary students of the state.