Board places Superintendent Daniel Ludvigson on special assignment

The Long Prairie-Grey Eagle School District Board of Education voted 4–2 on Oct. 3 to place Superintendent Daniel Ludvigson on special assignment effective immediately through June 30, 2025, with full pay and benefits under his superintendent contract.

Clerk Tanja Levin moved the action, and Chairman Lemke seconded. The roll call vote recorded yes votes from Levin, Lemke, Jager and Wright and no votes from Gohman and Wolf. Ludvigson raised a procedural objection before the motion received a second and later asked questions about the process but did not receive answers from the board during the vote.

In remarks before the vote, Superintendent Daniel Ludvigson urged the board to follow established board policies and to avoid actions that could expose the district to legal risk. He cited policy 203.9 (board action on resolutions), policy 209's admonition to "work through and not around the Superintendent," and policy 202 describing the duties of the board, and warned against proceeding without legal counsel he believes is absent. "I simply ask the board to not put the community in danger by acting recklessly without counsel from a professional educated on the consequences of these choices," Ludvigson said.

Chairman Lemke told the board that legal counsel had reviewed motions before the meeting and declined to answer a request from Board Member Gohman for reasons the action was being taken, saying doing so could expose the district to further litigation. The motion to place Ludvigson on special assignment included approval of the terms of special assignment under the existing superintendent agreement with Independent School District 2753.

No formal amendment to the employment agreement was recorded in the minutes; the board signed the motion as presented and adjourned at 6:13 p.m. The district minutes list the effective dates for the special assignment as "effective immediately through June 30, 2025."