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Big Levy Stampede As Schools Struggle With Budget

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Nov 2, 2007 6:36 am US/Central

Big Levy Stampede As Schools Struggle With Budget

(AP) In the biggest school levy stampede since 2001, voters in 99 Minnesota school districts will decide on a combined $229 million in potential property tax increases when they go to the polls Tuesday.
  
The requests range from Hibbing's bid for $150 per student to White Bear Lake's proposed $1,470 per student. Montgomery falls in the middle, hoping to generate $780 for each of its 1,100 students.
  
The so-called excess levies once were a way for school districts to pay for niceties beyond the basics covered by state allowances. But more and more school leaders say the local taxes go for essentials such as textbooks, supplies and teacher salaries. State dollars currently pay 78 percent of education costs, down from a high of 86 percent six years ago.


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