by Don Heinzman
Thisweek Newspapers
With the Minnesota Legislature failing to provide school districts enough money equitably to teach the state’s students, it is time to allow school boards to levy necessary property taxes without another vote of the people.
School boards should have the same power as cities and counties to levy the necessary taxes and if the public doesn’t like it they can vote them out of office.
This is a tough time for school boards who have to cut millions of dollars from programs for students and resort to four-day school weeks as is going to happen in North Branch and possibly in Rush City.
At a time when schools around the world are having more classroom time, Minnesota is lessening effective hours of school time by having four-day school weeks.
The Association of Metropolitan School Districts involving 33 school districts has some devastating data on what’s happening to under-funded school districts.
In this current year, these districts reduced their operating budgets by $106 million and reduced staff by 865 full-time equivalents.
What’s worse, given no more cuts, they are projecting another $154 million in combined reductions for the next school year.
To add insult to injury, schools in the AMSD are paying $5.2 million in interest charges to borrow money because the state is not paying state aid payments on time.
These school boards have one of their arms tied behind them, their ability to raise revenues.
There’s a bill before the Legislature, authored by Sen. Don Betzold, DFL-Fridley, that needs to be passed: allowing school boards to renew special excess property tax levies without needing to have the public approve it in an expensive and exhausting special levy election.
This bill requires any new tax levy to be voted on, but once it’s passed, it continues at the will of the school board.
Anoka-Hennepin School District 11, for example, is facing a renewal levy election of $48 million this fall. It will be a tough time to get voters to approve it in this economic climate, but imagine what cutting out $48 million will do to a school district which already is preparing to close six schools and is repurposing two others.
The governor opposes this automatic renewal, because it would cover more than the term voters approved it.
Where is the outrage over what is happening to programs for students? The answer seems to be: Too bad, but the rest of us are suffering and everyone has to feel the pain.
If the Legislature refuses to fund educational programs, which is their obligation under the state constitution, then give school boards the power to renew existing tax levies and bonding bills without having to go to the people and beg for permission.
Cities and counties have that power now. So too should school districts.
Don Heinzman is chairman of the ECM Publishers Inc. Editorial Board. Thisweek Newspapers and the Dakota County Tribune are part of ECM. He is at
don.heinzman@ecm-inc.com.
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Columns reflect the opinion of the author. |