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Most school districts win approval for tax increases
by Tim Pugmire, Minnesota Public Radio
November 5, 2003

More than three fourths of the Minnesota school districts with a levy referendum on yesterday's ballot won approval from local voters. School officials say the tax increases will bring some financial stability to many cash-strapped districts. Budget cuts and teacher layoffs are the likely outcome in districts where voters defeated levy requests.

St. Paul, Minn. — The Minnesota School Boards Association counted at least 65 of the state's 341 school districts with an operating levy referendum on Tuesday's ballot. Officials in most of those districts had described their proposed increase in local property taxes as a necessity to prevent further financial problems. Unofficial results showed more than 75 percent of the districts were successful.

MSBA Executive Director Bob Meeks says taxpayers are willing to pay when the money goes for a good purpose.

"The districts were very careful this year to prioritize their needs and to explain to the people this was not additional revenue," Meeks said. "This is revenue they could point that was needed."

Passage of a levy means more money for teacher salaries, supplies and other operating expenses. At a time when state funding is flat, the additional local support helps schools keep pace with rising costs.

The districts were very careful this year to prioritize their needs and to explain to the people this was not additional revenue. - Bob Meeks, Minnesota School Boards Association

The suburban Mounds View school district won voter approval for a levy that will generate up to $6.3 million a year for eight years.

Superintendent Jan Witthuhn says the added revenue provides some short-term breathing room.

"This levy is going to play an important role in slowing the rate and scope of the problems that our district faces in future years, but it certainly by itself doesn't eliminate problems for all of the years out there," Witthuhn said.

Voters in South St. Paul overwhelmingly approved a levy for $2.4 million each of the next 10 years. District officials had threatened to cut sports and other extra curricular activities if the referendum failed. Bloomington, Edina, and Wayzata were among the other suburban winners.

On a night when Duluth voters showed little confidence in the incumbent school board members, they gave strong support for a levy. The referendum will generate $2.7 million each year for five years.

Craig Grau, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, says he was surprised by the margin of support.

"I think a lot of people didn't think it was going to pass," Grau said. "And then the interesting thing is that the school referendum passes, and yet the incumbent school board members were mainly defeated." More than a dozen school districts divided their financial request over two or more levy questions. Voters in Chaska, St. Anthony-New Brighton and St. Francis passed three ballot questions. Elk River, Marshall, Lakeville, South Washington County and Waseca were among the districts that won approval for two questions.

The Centennial district placed four questions on the ballot, but voters rejected them all. Superintendent John Christiansen says he hoped district residents had grown tired of budget cuts.

"We did a $1.2 million in budget reductions last year and we're going to be looking at another million plus to our budget for next year, and it gets worse after that," Christiansen said.

Voters in Farmington, another growing suburban district, also rejected a proposed tax increase. The levy request was for $4.2 million a year for 10 years. Superintendent Bradley Meeks says he thinks voters understood the district's financial need but didn't like the price tag.

"City and county taxes were increasing, and I think when it came time for the school district here to come up and ask their turn, their share, people were frustrated and fed up with that at that point," Meeks said.

Meeks says the Farmington school board has no choice but to place another referendum on the ballot next year. Other districts dealing with referendum defeats include: International Falls, North Branch, Rockford, ROCORI and St. Michael-Albertville.

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