Henry School Superintendent Brian Sieh has been in trouble with the law before his domestic assault charge. Sieh has a lengthy record of traffic violations, including tickets for open container.
Sieh pleaded guilty to eleven speeding tickets and two open container violations between 1995 and 2008. But even such traffic violations aren’t necessarily deal breakers for landing a job as a school superintendent.
South Dakota law requires the state to conduct a criminal background check on anyone applying for a job with a school district.
“People in the state can feel confident that people employed in the school districts have gone through a thorough criminal background check,” Brian Aust of Associated School Boards of South Dakota said.
School boards cannot hire anyone with a history of violent crimes, like the assault charge Sieh is accused of. Sexual assaults and drug convictions are also major red flags. But districts have more leeway when it comes to hiring someone with traffic tickets.
[...] School background checks [...]