Darrin Anderson for Litchfield School Board

01/20/2024

Please take time to check out the progress on our search for a new superintendent of Litchfield Schools. If you are interested in being part of the process check out the link below.

All interviews are open to the public to sit in on and watch. First round of interviews is January 31st at 5:30 in the Middle School media center.

11/14/2023

We are looking for your input on the selection of our next superintendent of the Litchfield Public Schools. Please take time to respond and share with everyone you know within our district.

Click here to complete the Litchfield Schools Superintendent Search Survey. An anonymous...

09/28/2023

ICS has been great to work with and they have done such a wonderful job. The community and district are grateful for such wonderful facilities that ICS and Wold built for us. Great job! Everyone should come and see the finished product! Also, we kept the project UNDER BUDGET that we could add back items we took off the list.

09/17/2023

Haven’t posted anything on Facebook for awhile. Just making sure I still can.

04/16/2023

I wanted to share this here as I am originally from Starbuck. Growing up and even now I could never ever imagine I would hear about something like this. What is our world becoming? Why are those in law enforcement a target constantly of violence through words and action? I for one am tired of these attacks on our law enforcement and communities by those who have no respect for the law or the people in those communities. It is time we all come together as communities and unite to support our law enforcement and bring back pride in our communities!

POPE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE STATEMENT ON APRIL 15, 2023 INCIDENT

As has been reported, Deputy Josh Owen has served the Pope County Sheriff’s Office for nearly twelve years. The attached picture shows Deputy Owen with his beloved canine Karma.

Deputy Owen had a heart as big as his stature. He leaves behind a wife and a son. He loved his family, his brotherhood, and his community.

Yesterday, April 15, Pope County law enforcement lost a brother. Our sympathies and love are with Deputy Josh Owen's family, and the families of the other Deputies and Officers involved.

At this time, the investigation is still ongoing. The Pope County Sheriff’s Office is following all necessary protocols regarding this officer-involved shooting.

Our community partners, Glacial Ridge Hospital Staff and EMTs, all other public safety first-responders, near and far, that have assisted during this difficult time have our deepest gratitude.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will release the other officers’ names and further details upon conclusion of their investigation.

At this time, we are asking everyone to respect the privacy of Deputy Owen’s family and all others involved.

We are unable to speak further on the active investigation.

All follow up questions should be directed to the BCA.

12/04/2022

The Litchfield Schools sends condolences to the Solem family as well as the Minnewaska School family during this difficult time. It is never easy losing a valuable staff, coach, and mentor to their students. This loss also impacts our Litchfield School community.

Jesus said “Come to me, all of you who are weary, and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28

Our Laker community lost a truly remarkable man yesterday. Trevor was a young father, husband, coach, educator, neighbor, friend…

Lord, we come to you today, and ask you to be with those who’s hearts are hurting. Give them strength, and comfort through the pain and emptiness they are feeling. Help them cope with this sadness, and loss.
Lord, you are our refuge. Embrace us in your loving arms. Heal our broken hearts, and soothe our souls.
We thank you for being with us in this time. We may not understand why things happen the way that they do, and why illness touches those in our lives, but we do trust that you walk the path of life right by our sides.

Father, welcome Trevor into your kingdom, and let the light of heaven shine warmly on his face.

Let us lift our prayers up for Keshia, Easton, Jameson, coworkers, students, and friends in our community who are grieving this enormous loss.

11/24/2022

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

11/09/2022

I would like to thank everyone who made their voices heard by voting! Thank you for your support in re-electing me to the Litchfield School Board! We have work to do and I promise to work hard for the community and district!! Thank you! Dragon Proud!🐉

10/31/2022

Litchfield Chamber Questionnaire

What experience and background makes you a good candidate to be a school board Member?

I am running for re-election to the Litchfield School Board because I believe in our school, students, and the staff of Litchfield Public Schools. I have served as the chairman for the past six years, and am active on several committees, but mainly on our Project Oversight Committee (POC) and on our school/city LARC (Litchfield Area Recreation Center) Committee. Over the past eight years, I have worked very hard for our parents, staff, and community by listening to their input and serving all to the best of my ability. I want to continue to be part of this great school district and I feel we still have work to do to provide students with the best and brightest future! Mostly to continue to help the Litchfield School District grow and continue to achieve our goals.

How can the school district align itself with the needs of local employers, especially the need for the workforce?

We are a farming and industrial community that is the home to many great companies that give back to our community and school district. Over the past few years, we have focused more on our career technical education (shop, welding, autobody, agriculture) with our renovations during the last building project to enhance, build, and promote these courses. With the upgrades, our goal is to bring in local businesses as partners to talk about the various industries, teach about the skills needed, and what are businesses looking for, and ultimately create a pathway for students to learn these skills and move towards employment in these local businesses that are looking for workers in the various skilled positions. Call it school to work. Many students would like to start working after high school and we would be helping these students learn the skills and start working right away.

What strategies will you use to ensure the School District lives within its budget?
I will work very closely with our business manager, administration, and other board members working very hard to be stewards of the taxpayers' dollars. We watch the spending of the district and make sure that every tax dollar is spent wisely. We always look at the need and the want and make the determination/ Is the need to aid in education or is this a want? Being on the POC Committee, we make sure all the money spent with our bond levy was spent wisely. As I said in the Litchfield Ind. Review Sept 21, 2022, “ We are watching out for our taxpayers’ dollars” and “We are not going to spend extra money for mistakes or lack of getting the job done.”

What do you see as the top three priorities for the school district?

Keeping the education of our students a top priority in every decision we make as a board. We have a great school district and staff that do a wonderful job educating and preparing our students for the future.
To continue to build on the relationship between the community and school. The backbone of every growing community is a great school system. My focus will continue to involve parents and the community when it comes to helping promote our schools and building on our success.
Continue to innovate in the classroom and prepare our students for tomorrow. Education is constantly changing and we as a district will continue to evolve to meet those changes. Over the past few years, we have focused more on our career technical education (shop, welding, autobody, agriculture) with our renovations during the last building project to enhance, build, and promote those courses.

What can LHS do to retain our local graduates and prepare them for careers in our local community?

As I stated before, our goal is to bring local businesses into the school as partners to talk about the various industries, teach about the skills needed, and what are businesses looking for, and ultimately create a pathway for students to learn these skills and move towards employment in these local businesses that are looking for workers in the various skilled positions. We want to help our businesses succeed and help our community grow

10/31/2022

I am running for re-election to the Litchfield School Board. I ask you to please share and spread the word. We have work to still do. A little about me:

I am currently serving as the chairman of the Litchfield School Board for the past six years. Here I will continue to advocate for all students that they receive the best education possible. While on the school board I have always promoted transparency in what the board does when it comes to finances, educational decisions, board decisions, and asking for input from the community.

One of my greatest challenges on the board was getting through the COVID-19 pandemic as a school. We worked hard advocating for our students and working tirelessly trying to keep our students in person, in school with their teachers and friends. Many steps we took was working with the state and the community to do what was best for our students, not letting the state determine what was best for our students. My goal as chairman of the Litchfield School Board was always to keep a close relationship with the community, as this is their school, that the board is the servant of the people, and together we can create the best school and community possible.

* I will post my answers to the Litchfield Chamber questions in my next post*