Tom Farrell-Madison Central School Board Candidate

I have been a part of the Madison community since my parents moved here in 1949.  I am a proud graduate of the Madison Central School District where I attended school from 1962 to 1966.  I then went on to attend General Beadle (which became Dakota State in 1969).  I graduated from Dakota State in 1970 and began my employment with college that fall.  I retired from full time teaching in 2009.  I dedicated all but one year of my professional teaching career to Dakota State University and continue to teach one graduate class per year.  During my tenure at DSU, I spent much time developing and delivering K – 12 professional development to educators both in South Dakota and around the country.

I have been married to my wife, Joyce, for 52 plus years.  She served the Madison Central School District as a teacher and coach for 36 years.  Our daughter, Susan, and son, Jim, both graduated from Madison Central High School and have both gone on for further education.  Susan is a teacher in the Sanborn Central School District and has two daughters who are seventh graders in the Madison Central School District.  She has gone on beyond her bachelor’s degree to earn a Master’s in English Education.  Our son, Jim, completed his undergraduate degree at Dakota State University and was a part of the joint DSU/SDSU Army ROTC program.  He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and has since achieved the rank of Major in the U. S. Army. Jim is nearing the completion of his first master’s degree.  

It has been a pleasure to serve on the Madison Central School District Board of Education since I was appointed in November of 2009.  I have had the pleasure of serving as President of the Madison board since 2011.  In addition, I serve as a Southeast South Dakota board member for the Associated School Boards of South Dakota for the enrollment category of 700 – 1399 a position I have held since 2014.  I served as President of that association for the 2018-2019 school year.  

I first became interested in the Madison Central School District Board of Education when I was nearing retirement. If felt that being on the board would be an excellent way to give back to the Madison community for the high quality of education, it provided for myself and my children as well as for being an excellent employer for my wife for 36 years.

If I am elected, I hope to continue to work as board member with fellow board members and the Madison Central School District administrative team to make our district the best that it can possibly be.  There continue to be many challenges with the largest right now being the ability to keep our district staffed with the high-quality of people we have had in the past.  Workforce issues plague all employers; the school district is not alone.  We not only need to be competitive to hire great teachers, but truly need great staff in all of our positions.