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School districts asking for taxpayer help
by Tim Pugmire, Minnesota Public Radio
September 29, 2003

There are 40 students in 9th grade Honors English at Mounds View High School this fall. (MPR Photo/Tim Pugmire)

More than one in five school districts throughout the state are asking voters this fall to provide some additional financial support. The Minnesota School Boards Association says at least 63 of the state's 341 districts have an operating levy referendum on the November ballot. Officials in many districts say an increase in local property taxes is critically needed to prevent further budget cuts.

St. Paul, Minn. — Classrooms at Mounds View High School in Arden Hills are packed this fall. Teacher David Weinberg has 40 students squeezed into his 9th grade Honors English class. He says the conditions are challenging.

"The workload has increased greatly," Weinberg said. "It's like you get a whole other class to teach of kids. And it's hard to connect with the kids, as we use to do in the past. It takes longer to learn their names, it's a lot more work and it's harder to achieve success."

Enrollment is up 100 students at Mounds View High School this year. But district budget cuts forced sharp reductions in the teaching staff. Several classes have 40 or more students. Mounds View students also have fewer courses to choose from and are paying higher fees to participate in extra curricular activities. Principal Julie Wikelius says the school is just trying to get by.

"Teachers, students and parents as well are making the best of what we all recognize to be a difficult situation, with the hope that circumstances will change and be improved beginning next year," Wikelius said.

The Mounds View school district is hoping voters in its nine suburban communities will provide those improvements by approving an eight-year operating levy. The referendum on the November ballot would generate $6.3 million the first year, and slightly less in subsequent years. Voters rejected a levy increase two years ago.

	Jan Witthuhn

Superintendent Jan Witthuhn says this referendum is a bare bones request, providing just enough money to hold off deeper budget reductions. She says another defeat would mean more layoffs, even higher fees and the closing of two schools.

"It's a real important crossroads in the history of this school district," Witthuhn said. "I don't think that over the long run our teachers can be expected to work in the conditions they're working in and deliver the quality people expect and deserve."

The stakes are similarly high in dozens of school districts. Local leaders are relying more heavily on excess levies because state education funding hasn't kept pace with their costs.

South St. Paul school leaders say they might have to eliminate all extra curricular activities. John Christiansen, superintendent of the Centennial school district, says voters are learning that a defeat will bring more cuts.

"Teachers at the high school, teachers at the middle school, support staff hour reductions," Christiansen said. "We would raise some class sizes at the elementary and we would reduce some administrative staff."

Centennial, which serves Blaine, Centerville, Circle Pines, Lexington and Lino Lakes, is spreading its request over four ballot questions. The first question would raise $2.8 million a year for five years just to avoid future budget cuts. The remaining questions would restore previous cuts, improve course offerings and prevent additional fee increases. More than a dozen districts are taking a similar multiple-question approach, including Bemidji, Lakeville, St. Cloud, St. Francis and South Washington County.

A public education watchdog group is urging voters to look closely at their local levy proposals and ask lots of questions. Warren Grantham of the Minnesota Education League says school districts need to make a case for a tax increase, and a firm promise for the money's use.

"For instance, one district talks about the possibility of lowering classroom sizes, but they don't come out and specifically say which schools and what the levels are going to be if they have a successful levy referendum," Grantham said.

Grantham says the league's role is to provide information on local levies rather than take a position. He says voters need to make informed decisions on election day.

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