Students Stage Walkout in Support of Superintendent Amid Controversial Replacement

(KNSI) – Dozens of students in a central Minnesota school district walked out of class Tuesday to protest a decision to replace their superintendent.

Long Prairie-Grey Eagle Superintendent Dan Ludvigson was placed on an unspecified special assignment on October 3rd.

Following a school board meeting Tuesday morning where the panel voted to replace Ludvigson with interim Superintendent Doug Froke, the students walked out of class to show support for Ludvigson. After two to three hours, students returned, and the day resumed as usual. According to the high school office, none of the students who took part in the walkout will be disciplined.

KNSI News reached out to School Board Chair Kelly Lemke for more on what was behind the board’s decision, but she referred us to their legal counsel with Squires, Waldspurger & Mace. A message left with the law firm has yet to be returned. The meeting also has not been made public.

Before the school day started, community members protested the board outside the building. One of them was former Long Prairie Mayor Jodi Dixon, who told KNSI News the residents are angry because they haven’t had their questions answered about what Ludvigson did to justify his removal. “Mr. Ludvigson has been obviously well loved in the community. He, as everybody does, makes mistakes as you start and throughout your career. Nobody’s perfect.”

She questions why he wasn’t fired if he did something so egregious. Dixon feels the issue has started to fester inside the schools. “It’s horrible. I’m friends with quite a few of the teachers, and the morale at the school is horrible. The students feel it, obviously. And as taxpayers, holy buckets, we’re going to be paying two salaries for superintendent.”

With Froke being offered a six-month contract and Ludvigson still on staff, Independent School District 2753 will pay both men’s salaries for the next six months.

According to public records, Ludvigson’s annual salary was $160,000 in 2023. Froke’s salary under the six-month contract was not disclosed.

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