From the New London-Spicer School Board Chairperson, Lucinda Dahlberg:
Dear New London-Spicer Community,
This website is dedicated to providing you with a look into the situation currently faced by our school district, the process we as a district have taken to address our challenges, and the plan that will be decided on by voters in November 2021.
At the Monday, July 26 board meeting, the New London-Spicer School Board unanimously approved a resolution to put a two-question Operating Levy Referendum on the ballot for the November 2, 2021 election. The referendum asks voters to consider a voter-approved operating levy of $1,020 per pupil (student) as well as increases due to inflation. Unlike most of our neighboring districts, New London-Spicer currently does not have a voter-approved operating levy in place.
While our district has traditionally followed a fund balance policy of 3%, this financial strategy is no longer viable due to increasing costs and unforeseen expenses. We take our responsibility to be stewards of taxpayer dollars and educators to our students very seriously and we are eager to continue the process of connecting with our community members to best address our challenges.
We have made significant budget cuts in our district and students are being impacted by our challenges every day. We are proud of our achievements as a district and what we have been able to accomplish. We have been working with our community members to set a new direction and the upcoming referendum is the result of that work.
We look forward to sharing more information about the proposed plans and what is happening in our school district. By law, the school district can only share factual information about a referendum and cannot advocate for or against its passage.
We will be updating this site with more information and will share information via district social media channels, local media, and district mailings.
Please review this website and vote on or before Nov. 2. If you have any questions, please contact Superintendent Bill Adams at adamsw@nls.k12.mn.us or 320.354.2252.
