OUR CHALLENGES
our biggest needs
Our district has served our area well for generations, and we are grateful for our community’s engagement and support of previous projects. However, challenges still remain as we have reviewed our ongoing budget and physical building needs. Our operations and buildings are both equally important in supporting our Dragons well.
Here’s a deeper dive into our needs, both on the operating side and our physical building side.
Our Operating Needs
As we've reviewed our ongoing budget needs, it has become clear that maintaining the programs and services our students, families, and community value requires stable funding to support the day-to-day operations of our schools. Our current operating levy is $818.37 per pupil, which is not adequate to support the programs and services our students and community rely on.
Our operating budget supports the people, programs, and services students rely on every day, including classroom instruction, student support services, activities, transportation, technology, staffing, and building operations.
Like many school districts across Minnesota, we are facing increasing financial pressures that affect our ability to sustain those investments. While we have worked hard to manage costs and maximize available resources, state and federal funding have not kept pace with inflation or the rising costs of providing the educational programs and services our students need.
These challenges are not the result of poor financial management. In fact, we have taken significant steps to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars. We have carefully controlled spending, identified efficiencies, and made difficult decisions to reduce costs whenever possible. In March 2026, our school board approved more than $368,000 in budget reductions for the 2026-27 school year and approximately $519,000 for the 2025-2026 school year. While these cuts were necessary, they were not made lightly.
We have also relied on our fund balance to help minimize the impact on students and staff. However, fund balance reserves are intended for short-term needs and cannot serve as a long-term solution to ongoing budget challenges.
Despite these efforts, the gap between district revenues and expenses continues to grow. Without additional operating revenue, further reductions will be necessary, affecting programs, services, and opportunities that directly support student success.
our building needs
And as we've looked at our buildings, we’ve seen that some of our spaces no longer support today’s students and programs, especially as our schools age and deteriorate. Originally built in 1952, the Wagner Education Building is outdated and needs significant upgrades to building infrastructure systems, safety/accessibility, and the exterior. Lake Ripley Elementary School and Litchfield Middle/High School both require building improvements to continue supporting students and staff well, including building systems, lighting, and accessibility. And our grandstand needs deferred maintenance improvements to continue meeting our needs.
Like all other buildings, things need to be replaced as they age, and we can only defer maintenance needs until they absolutely require replacement.
wagner education building
Wagner Education Building (WEB): Our Wagner Education Building, which provides space for Community Education, Early Childhood, and our Litchfield School District Office, was originally built in 1952 and needs significant improvements to continue serving our students and staff well.
Our wood windows need to be replaced: We have 18 single-pane wood windows that are almost 75 years old and original to our building. These are heavily deteriorated and need to be replaced.
We need improvements to our Community Education entrance: Although our building is safe, there is currently no way to vet visitors before allowing them access to the rest of our facility, which impacts student and staff safety.
We need to make upgrades and repairs to our building’s envelope: The exterior mortar and expansion joints on our building’s envelope and chimney are beginning to fail, and we need to make repairs. In addition, our building’s east exterior door and main entrance and paneling are in poor condition.
We need HVAC equipment improvements: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) equipment in our building ranges in age from 27 - 74 years old. Most of it has exceeded its expected useful life and is not capable of providing adequate outdoor air ventilation or indoor dehumidification. Our 74-year-old boiler is well beyond its useful life, requiring ongoing maintenance and repairs, while replacement parts have become increasingly difficult to find due to its age. Our heating system relies on a single source to function and needs to be replaced.
Our parking lot needs to be improved: Our southeast parking lot is in poor condition and is too small to support our staff and visitors, forcing many to find street parking. Congested street parking creates traffic congestion where our buses pick-up and drop-off students, creating safety concerns.
We need to install a fire sprinkler system: Our building currently does not have a fire sprinkler system, creating a significant safety concern in the event of a fire.
Our north building entrance isn’t ADA accessible: The entrance on the north side of our building, which is used to access the playground, is not handicapped accessible, limiting inclusivity for our students.
Our restrooms require important updates: The common restrooms in our building are almost 75 years old, are not ADA compliant, and several fixtures don’t function well and can’t be repaired without replacing domestic water and sanitary sewer pipes.
The concrete near our main entrance needs to be improved: The concrete in front of our main entrance is in poor condition, creating tripping and safety hazards.
Our lighting is outdated and needs to be replaced: While some areas have been converted to energy-efficient LED lighting, most areas still rely on fluorescent fixtures. Because new fluorescent bulbs can no longer be sold in Minnesota, replacement bulbs are becoming increasingly difficult and costly to obtain.
litchfield middle/high school
Litchfield High School was originally built in 1963 and Litchfield Middle School in 1995 with additions built onto our high school in 1994, 1996, and 2006. Our building needs important improvements to its building systems, the showers and bathrooms in our locker rooms, and lighting to continue supporting students well.
Some of the HVAC equipment in this building needs to be replaced: The existing air-cooled condensing units serving the gym and pool are 31 years old, which is approximately 11 years past their expected useful life and need to be replaced. The HVAC system that serves our FACS lab also serves general classrooms in our building, which disperses cooking odors throughout the building when the FACS space is used. In addition, the existing rooftop air handling units that serve our locker rooms, wrestling room, kitchen, and media center commons are the oldest units in our district and have well exceeded their useful life.
Original components of our building are deteriorating, don’t accommodate all students, and need upgrades and replacements: The egress doors of our main gymnasium are in poor condition and don’t secure properly when closed, creating safety concerns. In addition, the two main doors to our Special Education wing do not have automatic door operators.
The bathrooms and showers in our locker rooms are aging and need improvements: The materials and hardware in our locker rooms are 63 years old, in poor condition, and finding replacement parts is difficult.
Our lighting is outdated and needs to be replaced: While most of our building has been converted to energy-efficient LED lighting, some areas still rely on fluorescent fixtures. Because new fluorescent bulbs can no longer be sold in Minnesota, replacement bulbs are becoming increasingly difficult and costly to obtain.
lake ripley elementary school
Lake Ripley Elementary School was originally built in 1968 and we’re grateful for the improvements our community supported in 2005 and 2021. Minor improvements are needed to support this facility.
Our lighting is outdated and needs to be replaced: While most of our building has been converted to energy-efficient LED lighting, some areas still rely on fluorescent fixtures. Because new fluorescent bulbs can no longer be sold in Minnesota, replacement bulbs are becoming increasingly difficult and costly to obtain.
our grandstand
Our grandstand is aging and in need of repairs: Several concrete blocks and their mortar joints on our grandstand are failing due to age and water intrusion, which could result in a structural failure if not addressed.
These challenges, both for our ongoing operating budget and our physical facility needs, will continue to worsen the longer we wait to address them. That’s why we're asking residents to consider two ballot questions this November.
