They both attend Harvey Dunn Elementary-Coulter is in 2nd grade and Ryder is in Kindergarten.
My very patient wife, Kersten Dobberpuhl, works for the School District as an Elementary Instructional Coach and has been in the education field since 2003.I work at Minnehaha County Human Services as a case manager with the Safe Home program. We help assist Minnehaha County residents who are experiencing long term homelessness. I have been with this program since we moved to Sioux Falls in 2007. I was able to be a part of this program from the very beginning and helped develop the policies and procedures that have made it a successful program for Minnehaha County.I grew up in Doland, SD and graduated high school from Doland High School in 1996 and went on to attend Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD. I graduated from NSU with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with an emphasis on Criminal Justice along with a minor in Psychology.
All through college and my professional career and have played the role of an advocate. I have worked at the Boys and Girls Club in Aberdeen and Sisseton. I have worked with children through the Turtle Creek Youth Program in Redfield, SD. When we moved to Arizona I had the wonderful opportunity to work as a Social Worker with the Hospice program in Parker, AZ. I also assisted with bereavement for children who had lost a love one in our community, helped coordinate volunteers and put together some fundraising events for Hospice.
I currently volunteer with LSS as a mentor to a kindergartner at Mark Twain, Big Brother Big Sister as a big brother to a second grader at Longfellow, and I help with United Way as the co-chair for the government division.
I am running for school board because I have an invested interest with my two boys who currently attend school in the district. I feel I would be a great addition to the current board to help fill a role as a positive advocate and to help open up lines of communication between the employee groups.  According to the Gallup Poll that was taken last year recognition is lacking as well. Our teachers are having to work harder and harder each year and it seems with less and less support. With communication and recognition lacking that will suck the morale out of any business or organization. I want to start discussions on how to improve this and to keep it moving forward.
For the Record, I have known Randy almost as long as he has lived in Sioux Falls. Impressive resume to be a school board member and a standup guy. Working for the county he really knows his stuff when it comes to local government, and his employer has given him the green light to run. I don’t care who you pick for your second choice, but Randy should definately be your first choice!
Sounds like a nice committed kind of guy. The numerous grammatical and spelling errors in his statement certainly do not speak well of his SD education though.
Well Ruf, all the more reason to elect Randy, so he can fight for improving the quality of education in Sioux Falls. And by the way, aren’t we calling the kettle black? Like you are some spelling bee champion, and we allowed you to run against Ernie Rotten in the State legislature.
Thnaks for the psot Sctot! I am vrey ecxtied to sreve the comumnity in Souix Fllas. rufusx-not srue waht spllenig erorrs you are fnidnig in my psot but plaese piont tehm out and I will be srue to fix tehm! 🙂
Randy, for a moment, I thought Ruf was impersonating you, he usually writes at that level when he is crying about ditch drainage.
BTW Scott, IMO, wanting to be a school board member and not being able to write a grammatically correct sentence isn’t that different to wanting to build a “world class” event center and not being able to install properly configured siding.
On the other hand, being able to take constructive criticism with throwing a hissy fit, or making a smart-assed remark, I take as a sign of maturity.
Randy would be an awesome addition to the school board. I know him and he is the real deal! He is running for all the right reasons! Best of luck Randy!
VOTE RANDY FOR SCHOOL BOARD!!
Good luck Randy.
He has children and they’re in the district! His wife is an undercompensated educator! His background is people (sociology & psychology)! He’s 10 times more qualified than the the current super who knew a little something about raising horses.
Smart that he’s not taken a stance on school start date. I appreciate his humor and how he accepts criticism (comment #4).
Get him elected before he changes his mind. After a short stint on the board, let’s make him super.
There definitely needs to be a shake-up both on the Sioux Falls School Board and at IPC.
I am interested in this candidate as an alternative to Parker and Thoelke, but now that I have seen his response on this blog, it causes me to hesitate.
Does this guy have a thick enough skin to handle and appreciate all the phone calls, emails, etc. that he will most surely receive from his constituents!?
Scott, any info about a possible League of Women Voters debate between these three candidates?
Thank you all for the support. Ruf, my post was for humor only. Sorry if I offended you. Voter, I have been working with all kinds of people my whole professional career and feel I am ready to step up and serve our community. The debate will be held April 1.
Randy has also worked in the hospitality industry in SF, if that doesn’t give you a thicker skin, nothing will.