Troy Carr, Board President

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Bishop Troy M Carr is the pastor of Faith Temple Church in Rapid City, SD.  He is the Bishop of the state of South Dakota for the Church of God in Christ denomination.  Bishop Carr has lived in Rapid City since 1987. He was a missile launch officer in the 66th missile squadron, at Ellsworth Air Force Base, reaching the rank of captain.  Bishop Carr has also worked in his local church in various positions for over 25 years. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of South Dakota.  Bishop Carr has served as a volunteer at the Pennington County Jail and has held church services in several local nursing homes.  Bishop Carr is a strong believer in doing what he can to better his community.  Bishop Carr married his lovely wife Twana in December 1994.  They have four boys and three grandchildren.  All four boys attended RCAS and graduated from Central High School.  He has a grandson currently enrolled at Central.  Bishop Carr feels “called” to public service and is passionate about serving the needs of all residents in the Black Hills Area.

Troy is the Area 2 representative, 2022-2024.

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Contact Troy
Troy.Carr@k12.sd.us

Jamie Clapham, 1st Vice-President

Jamie was born and raised in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. She earned a B.S. in Health and Exercise Science at Furman University and a Master of Physical Therapy from the Medical College of Georgia. She moved to the Black Hills with her husband in 2011. She is a licensed physical therapist employed by Monument Health where she has worked for more than 10 years and also serves as a clinical instructor.

Jamie Bio Photo 3Jamie has 2 children who attend school in RCAS. Since 2018, Jamie has been heavily involved in PTA at the school, city, and state level.

Jamie is the Area 6 Representative, 2022-2025.

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Contact Jamie
Jamie.clapham@k12.sd.us

Christine Stephenson, 2nd Vice-President

Christine Stephenson was born and raised in Rapid City. She works as a pediatric physical therapist, and she and her husband own Dakota Angler and Outfitter.Christine head shot

They are parents to two RCAS students.

Christine is the Area 5 Representative, 2023-2026.

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Contact Christine
Christine.Stephenson@k12.sd.us

Deb Baker, Board Member

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Deb Baker was born and raised in Rapid City, SD.  She graduated from Rapid City Central High School in 1971.  She is married to Dan, they have three children, ten grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.  Their children all graduated from Rapid City Central, and three of their grandchildren have graduated from RCAS.  She believes all children deserve the same great education and life preparation that her children and she received from this district.

Deb is a retired businesswoman with years of professional management experience and community involvement.  She was the owner and operator of PRO/Rental Management from 1983-2013, managing nearly 1000 government subsidized apartments throughout South Dakota.  She has served on numerous boards as a board member, treasurer, and bookkeeper.  She currently volunteers at her church, is a member of their budget/finance committee and is their part-time bookkeeper.  She has a strong background in budgets/bookkeeping.  She looks forward to serving on the school board for Area 1.

Deb is the Area 1 representative, 2021-2024.

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Contact Deb
Deb.baker@k12.sd.us

Michael Birkeland, Board Member

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Michael was born and raised in Rapid City, SD and attended RCAS for his K-12 education. He graduated from Central High School in 2011.

Following that, he attended Black Hills State University where he earned his B.S.Ed. in Math & Science Education, with a focus on physics.

He then returned to Rapid City and taught Mathematics at Central High School for six years.

Michael currently works for ASU Prep Digital teaching 7th & 8th grade math online through Arizona’s Math Momentum program.

He looks forward to ensuring that all voices and all people in Rapid City are represented on the board and is excited to continue to give back

to a district and community that he believes in and has been such a major part of his life.

Michael is the Area 3 representative, 2022-2025.

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Contact Michael
Michael.Birkeland@k12.sd.us

Walter Swan, Board Member

Walt is the Area 4 Representative, 2023-2026.

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Contact Walt
Walter.Swan@k12.sd.us

Kate Thomas, Board Member

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Kate Thomas joined the RCAS Board in July 2015. She has lived in Rapid City for 40 years. She attended Pinedale Elementary as a child. When her father changed jobs from the Air force to Northwest Airlines, she and her family moved to Minnesota for 2 years. She is a graduate of St. Thomas More and has been married to Vince Thomas (Stevens HS) for 24 years. She is a parishioner of Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. She has 7 children. Her oldest has graduated from Lincoln Tech in Denver, CO and lives in Rapid City at this time. Her 2nd eldest graduated from University of Nebraska Lincoln in May of 2021. The rest are still either in college, High School and grade school. She has from time to time chosen to homeschool some of her children as that choice met her children’s needs better. She is dedicated to ensuring that children in this district have the appropriate and evidence-based researched curriculum to fill in the gaps they need, in reading & math, for their future success.

Kate is the Area 7 representative, 2021-2024

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Contact Kate
katharine.thomas@k12.sd.us

Shirley Fletcher, Board of Education Clerk

Shirley Fletcher

Contact Shirley Fletcher at shirley.fletcher@k12.sd.us if you are interested in presenting Invocation at the Board of Education meeting or have any questions regarding the Board of Education.

 

 

 

 

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