On September 17th, 2015, South Dakotans awoke to horrific news stories of the entire 6-member Westerhuis family discovered dead in their burnt out home in Platte, brutally killed by shotgun blasts.
News reports have confirmed these deaths are at the center of acknowledged corruption in the mismanagement and misuse of taxpayer monies given out in grants by the SD Department of Education. Reports are that Department of Education administrators have known for years that these taxpayer monies were not being handled properly by its contracted agent MidCentral Education Cooperative. News reports identified former and current public education officials as having received large amounts of taxpayer monies via these programs administered by MidCentral Education Cooperative; however, these programs cannot identify any Native American children who benefited from these monies specifically designated for these needy youth.
South Dakota statutory law, 2-6-2. Empowers the Government Operations and Audit Committee (GOAC) to inquire and review “any phase of the operations and the fiscal affairs of any department, institution, board, or agency of the state..” With the ability under 2-6-4. to “examine all records and vouchers, summon witnesses, and thoroughly examine all expenditures and the general management of each department.”
The MidCentral Education Cooperative was contracted and answerable to the South Dakota Department of Education to administer these taxpayer monies. They were agents of the Department of Education and a contractual entity of the Department of Education. Accordingly, the Joint Legislative GOAC has authority to conduct hearings and demand answers of the Department of Education and its agents in this admitted corruption surrounding taxpayer monies, in order to seek corrective legislative actions to address this infamous corruption of SD government.
We, the signatories of this petition, hereby call for Senate President Pro Tem Brock Greenfield (R-Clark), Senate Majority Leader Blake Curd (R-Sioux Falls), Senate Minority Leader Billie Sutton (D-Burke) House Speaker Mark Mickelson (R-Sioux Falls), House Majority Leader Lee Qualm (R-Platte), and House Minority Leader Spencer Hawley (D-Brookings) to require immediate public hearings be held by the GOAC into this notorious corruption responsible for the murders of Kailey (9), Jaeci (10), Connor (14), and Michael (16) Westerhuis.