Governor makes Board of Education appointments

Gov. Mike Rounds has appointed Jan Nicolay of Chester and Clint Waara of Sioux Falls to the South Dakota Board of Education. Each will serve a four-year term. He also reappointed Kelly Duncan-Clark of Dakota Dunes, who has served on the board since 1996.

Nicolay has an extensive background in the education field. For nearly 40 years, she worked in the Sioux Falls School District as a teacher and principal. She was the principal of the State Training School in Plankinton, and most recently, the interim director at Southeast Technical Institute in Sioux Falls.

Nicolay served 14 years in the South Dakota state legislature, chairing the House Appropriations Committee for 10 years. During her tenure, Nicolay chaired numerous education task forces.

Waara is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and will bring experience in business and education to the board. He currently serves as an assistant vice president/community development officer at Wells Fargo Bank.

Waara coordinated the University of South Dakota and Sitting Bull College Entrepreneurship Partnership, which focused on infusing economic literacy into curriculum. While at Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls, he initiated the Academy of Finance model of instruction, designed to develop high school students’ economic skills.