Oct 17, 2007 12:18 pm US/Central
If Levies Fail, Metro Districts Will Cut $173M
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ―
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"We're basically begging for money," said Ted Blaesing, superintendent of the White Bear Lake schools, who added that this is the 12th time in 15 years his district has asked voters for help. "It's a little bit like being nibbled to death by ducks."
CBS
If voters reject school levy referendums in three weeks, and there's no increase in state funding, 36 metro area school districts would have to slash $173 million from their budgets in 2008-09, educators said.
Those cuts would meaning laying off teachers, closing schools and increasing class sizes, they said. The effects could be similar throughout the state, since 99 of Minnesota's 341 school districts have levies on the Nov. 6 ballot.
Of those 99, about a third of the districts are seeking to renew existing referendums. Another 40 districts are asking voters to approve funding for facilities.
A survey of schools by the Association of Metropolitan School Districts and Schools for Equity in Education released Tuesday said last year's state funding increases provided a one-time boost for 2007, but won't prevent cuts in 2008.
In fact, said AMSD Executive Director Scott Croonquist, even if all the metro districts win their levy elections, his group will still go back to the Legislature "because that will not be enough to cover this funding gap."
The cumulative shortfall after the elections, even if voters all vote to increase their property taxes, will be $50 million in the metro area.
"We're basically begging for money," said Ted Blaesing, superintendent of the White Bear Lake schools, who added that this is the 12th time in 15 years his district has asked voters for help. "It's a little bit like being nibbled to death by ducks."
Local school officials said Tuesday that what's becoming an annual event -- the fall school levy election -- could be avoided with more help from the state. They said that at the very least state funding could increase with inflation.
"We need at least the rate of inflation -- bottom line -- from our funding sources," said Ben Kanninen, superintendent of the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage schools.
State Education Commissioner Alice Seagren countered that school funding is supposed to be a partnership between the state and local taxpayers.
"Operating referendums are an important part of Minnesota's proud tradition of local control. They give local citizens an opportunity to have a say in how the schools utilize local education resources," she said in an e-mail. "We encourage Minnesotans to participate in that process."
Seagren said that Minnesota ranks near the top nationally in the share of revenue the state provides to local schools, at about 78 percent.
One taxpayer advocate has a harsher view. David Strom, president of the Minnesota Free Market Institute, said the gloomy scenarios put out by levy supporters sounds like blackmail.
"What these school superintendents ought to be doing, instead of being together and making generalizations and making threats, is opening up their books to the public," he said.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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