|
|
The I.S.D. 166 school board is hoping voters in November will go to the polls and approve renewing the 2016 operating levy for another ten years. So what’s at stake if those residents don’t pass the referendum?
I.S.D. School Superintendent Chris Lindholm explained it this way.
“The current operating levy provides $350,000 – $400,000 of annual revenue for the district that supports teaching and support positions to provide smaller class sizes, elective opportunities for students, and some extracurricular activities. If the levy were to expire and not be extended, the district would need to begin a decision-making process to determine how to reduce expenditures by $350,000 – $400,000 to balance the budget and these items would certainly be part of the discussions.”
Superintendent Lindholm was asked what would happen if the state improved its funding to Minnesota school districts. He replied, “The school board revisits the overall school levy every fall and always has authority to reduce or under levy should those opportunities arise. The district’s ongoing goal is to provide steady, sustainable learning opportunities for students and to avoid disruptive cycles of adding and reducing. The operating levy passed in 2016 and excellent fiscal management by the school board has provided this stability for the past several years.”
The reason the levy varies each year is because the student enrollment changes. More students mean more levy money for the district, and of course, more students mean more expense. The current referendum gives I.S.D. 166 $800 per year for each student. That amount will stay the same, so voters’ taxes will look much the same when paying for the school operating levy. In 2022 someone owning a house valued at $250,000 paid $109 in taxes to the school. That is the same amount they would pay in 2023 if the levy passes again.
Operating levy referendums aren’t new in Minnesota. Since 1971 the Minnesota Legislature has given school districts the ability to levy additional revenue to cover general district operating costs if the voters approved the levy. Levies must be assessed against all market value of property in the district except for agricultural or seasonal recreational property. In 1973, only one school District had an excess levy, but by 1980, 95 districts had voter-approved operating referendums, and ten years later, that number climbed to 261. By 2002, nearly 90 percent of all school districts had voter approved levies at some time during their operation.
The current I.S.D. 166 levy is set to end on December 31, 2022.
Since 2003 state aid has not kept up with inflation, which has led the majority of school districts to go and ask local voters for financial support.
Cook County School Independent School District (I.S.D.) 166 voters passed levies in 2002, 2011, and 2016.
The money from voters funds between four to six teachers and helps fund secondary block schedules, smaller class sizes, and some extracurricular activities for kids.
To answer voters’ questions, meetings have already begun across the county. On October 10, there will be an informational meeting to share information and answer questions at the Grand Portage Log Building at 6 p.m. On October 11, a meeting will be held at the Lutsen Community Center at 6 p.m., and on October 12, there will be a chance to come, listen and ask questions at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts at 6 p.m. in Grand Marais.
Leave a Reply