Swigart suspended for 30 days after offensive comments

Rapid City Area Schools Superintendent Nicole Swigart has been removed from her position after making offensive comments during an investigation by the Office of Civil Rights, the School Board announced Monday.

The RCAS Board of Education granted Swigart a 30-day leave of absence and required her to complete cultural competency training to help her rebuild positive, trusting relationships with the Indigenous community.

“We are confident that Superintendent Swigart will be able to lead this district and ensure that all students enjoy a positive, safe and non-discriminatory school environment,” the board said in a statement Monday.

In a May 29 letter issued by the Office for Civil Rights, when asked about low attendance and high tardiness rates among Native American students, Swigart responded that Native American families operate on “Indian time,” which often causes students to be up to two hours late.

In a letter to the Office of Civil Rights, Swigart also reported that some tribes, such as the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota, “tend not to value education and inform their students that they are not required to complete a college degree.”

In an email to the Rapid City Journal and ICT in June, Swigart said she did not make the comments attributed to her in the report.

“I strongly disagree with the comments attributed to me in the Office of Civil Rights report,” she said. “The transcript of my interview is both misleading and inaccurate regarding the comments I allegedly made regarding my views on Native American communities. I do not hold those beliefs to be true and I have never uttered such hurtful words.”

Weeks earlier, she apologized for her comments during a June 4 Rapid City Area School Board meeting. In a statement to the board of education, she said she had no recollection of ever saying those words.

“We will use this incident as an opportunity to reinforce our commitment to our core values ​​and ensure that all students experience a school environment where they feel valued, respected, and supported,” the board said in a statement Monday. “The board recognizes that there is much work to be done to ensure that Native American students are treated fairly in the district, and we will not shy away from that work.”

As of Monday, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights had not fulfilled a request for the full transcript of Swigart’s interview.