My name is Shannon Nordstrom. My wife Tamie and I have 3 children and are in the process of our last child completing school in the Garretson School District. Our youngest daughter Ava is suddenly an 8th grader, our oldest son Riley is graduating college at the University of South Dakota, and our oldest daughter Madisen has just finished her freshman year at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, AZ. I am a member of the Garretson School board and currently serve as the board president. Our family and our great group of 78 team members operates Nordstrom’s Automotive, with its headquarters located on our family farm property, in the country 5 miles west of Garretson. Our family takes pride in supporting the community our family grew up in. I was a Garretson High School Class of 1987 and along with many of you, have been involved financially and with sweat equity in many projects that have happened around our great community. We have taxable value in the district, just like all of you. We are successful in business because of hard work, teamwork, and careful analysis. It is not without deep thought when I consider these taxation matters, just like I am confident anyone reading this does. I write today to encourage you to vote YES during the opt out vote which will occur on May 11th.
The community supported the last opt out vote in March of 2016 on an approximately 60/40 margin with very strong voter turnout. The confidence given to our board was very appreciated and we knew there was much work to be done. Our administration team, lead by Superintendent Guy Johnson, and our board have been working on many things we need to do, to continue to be diligent to the commitment made by the community and its taxpayers. Judging by the activity of those in the community since the vote, it is evident the voters in the district know there is work to be done also. The community has responded with many individuals and groups, including our city government, getting involved in projects to promote and grow our community to bring the needed new families into the district. You can physically see the results of some of this work when you look at the construction on the south side of town and the irritating but necessary infrastructure work occurring around the City of Garretson. At the public meetings during the last opt out vote in 2016, the board pledged to only use the money that was needed. The previous opt out of $500,000 dollars is expiring. As this current opt out expires, we have only accessed $350,000 of the available money in the last budget cycle. It is important to everyone involved in leading the district to honor our word and to work diligently and thoughtfully to continue that pledge.
As the districts’ voters contemplate the vote on the new $350,000 opt out on May 11th (down from the $500,000 in 2016) at the American Legion dugout, we ask for your continued support with a YES vote. We are currently not in the “crisis” mode we were in 2016, we are however still deficit spending outside of the one-time monies we are able to access as a result of the emergency dollars from covid relief funds both federal and state. If we could be given the trust of your additional tax dollars for another 5 years, it would be appreciated as we continue to work through our goals. It is possible that the first year, we will not access any of those additional funds, and we will work hard to make that the case. It is important to remember that the balancing act is to remain competitive in the job market for our entire staff, maintain cost, and most importantly invest in the growth of EVERY child in our district. We know there are things that need to be improved in the district and not every day goes perfect, but we do know the progress that has been made and we are excited about plans looking forward if we can stay on this track.
It is important to remind everyone, that the Garretson School District is not the only district opting out. If you study the information available on Department of Educations’ website, you will find that close to 45 percent of all districts, large and small are operating under an opt out. Digging deeper into the DOE information you will find the district ranks very high regarding the efficiency on how we use our money. All this information is available on a presentation that is on the school’s website and social media sites. Mr. Johnson has also welcomed anyone to make an appointment to talk about questions that you may have. Our goal is to be transparent and make sure that everyone can get the answers to the questions they have to make an informed decision.
I would appreciate your vote of confidence in the district. I am proud of our entire team for being just weeks away from completing this school year. While not exactly back to 100 percent “Normal” the staff has taken the precautions and risks and we will complete this year with in-person schooling. We have been able to have the extracurricular activities that are so important to our students and families. Garretson was also proud to be one of the first districts in the state ready to go with virtual learning, when the unexpected events of the Covid 19 pandemic took place and the State of South Dakota shut down in-person schooling in March of 2020. We have a lot to be proud of at the Garretson Public School.
Please vote YES on May 11th.
-Thank you
Shannon Nordstrom
Parent, Business owner and Garretson School Board President
