A dozen east-metro school districts are asking voters this fall to renew existing levies or provide new funding for school operations, facilities improvements and classroom technology.
Odd-year elections are popular for school levies, and this year there are 18 tax requests before voters in the suburbs surrounding St. Paul. Ten are for operating money and the remaining eight would fund capital improvements.
Scott Croonquist, executive director of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts, which collects levy information from its 40 members each year, said the number of districts asking voters for funding was typical for an odd-year election. Across the metro 20 districts have levies on the ballot.
“I think it is a reflection of the funding system we have in Minnesota,” Croonquist said, noting it was a “partnership” between the state funding and local property taxes. “While the state provides the majority, local referendums provide critical resources.”
Croonquist added that districts prefer odd-year elections without state and national offices on the ballot because it’s easier to get their message out to voters. Districts had until Friday to finalize levies for the November election.
One of the levies will be decided soon. Residents in the St. Anthony-New Brighton district will vote Sept. 7 on a $14 million capital levy that would fund new classrooms and other improvements to Wilshire Park Elementary School.
That vote comes before a new state law takes effect at the end of the year that limits to five days each year when districts can put capital levies before voters. Right now, districts may schedule those elections anytime.
Croonquist noted that some lawmakers proposed limiting capital levies to fall elections but settled on the five dates to allow districts to have more control over construction timelines.
On Nov. 7, the South Washington County, Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville, Mounds View, Roseville, South St. Paul, White Bear Lake, Burnsville-Eagan-Savage, Forest Lake, Anoka-Hennepin and Columbia Heights districts have levies on the ballot.
Eight of those districts have operating levies before voters, and all except for the White Bear Lake district are asking for an increase in funding in some way. Seven districts are asking voters to fund capital improvements such as school additions, renovations or classroom technology.
The tax requests come as Gov. Mark Dayton and the Legislature increased education funding by almost $2 billion a year when adjusted for inflation since 2011. Some of that money was directed at specific programs such as full-day kindergarten and expanded access to early learning programs.
Yet lawmakers have made it a point to also increase the per-pupil funding formula that districts use for day-to-day operations. Some school advocates have pushed lawmakers to tie the funding formula to the rate of inflation to make state funding more predictable.