Local News

Most Districts Shying Away From Levy Requests

ST. PAUL (AP) ― Choppy political waters have contributed to relative calm on Minnesota's school tax front.

Fifty-two districts are putting levy requests in front of voters this year, the smallest number since 1996 and about half as many as a year ago.

"The ones going out are the ones that are desperate," said Tom Dooher, president of Education Minnesota, the teachers union.

There are a number of explanations for the lighter load:

--School districts prefer to stay on the sidelines in presidential election years when campaigning is more intense and the high turnout makes the climate more volatile.

--School leaders recognize that national economic problems have left voters coping with high gas prices, rising food costs and other strains on their wallets.

--Many districts already got levies approved in the past few years.

--The ballot already has one tax proposition -- a constitutional amendment to raise the state sales tax and dedicate the money to outdoors and cultural heritage programs.

--Some districts are waiting to see if the state lawmakers raise aid when they set their two-year budget next spring.

The "excess levies" were envisioned as a way to allow schools to offer programs beyond the basics, but they've become a staple of many school budgets. They raise money for classroom supplies, teacher salaries and other expenses school leaders say they can't cover with their general per-pupil allowance from the state.

Many of this year's measures are replacing or expanding soon-to-expire levies. Of Minnesota's 340 school districts, 306 supplement their state dollars with a voter-approved levy. They're separate from bond issues for school construction that also go before voters and tap into the property tax base; this calendar year produced 36 school bond attempts.

Oglivie is among the districts without an existing operating levy where voters are being asked to authorize one.

Schools in the once-bustling farming community are struggling to stay afloat as the student head count shrinks. There are about 90 fewer students compared with five years ago, costing the district the roughly $5,100 in state aid that comes with each, said Superintendent Ed Harris. As the budget gets squeezed more, he's worried about losing offerings and giving students more reasons to flee for nearby districts.

Harris said his district has already spent down reserves and risks falling into statutory operating debt, the school equivalent of bankruptcy. The ballot measure seeks $1,195 per child, bumping up annual property taxes by about $625 on a median-priced home in the area.

"The levy is pretty steep, there is no doubt about it. There is strong support and there is some strong opposition," Harris said. "We are not blessed with a prime condition. Our scenario did not afford us the choice between now and waiting another year."

A loss could force Oglivie's schools into discussions about consolidation with another district, Harris said.

A failed levy could doom the McLeod West School District as well.

There, Superintendent Tony Boyer isn't sugarcoating things.

"If we don't pass this operating levy, we have no school. It will be closed," he said matter-of-factly. "We will either have to consolidate or have the county dissolve the district."

After shooting down a request last year, voters are being asked to sign off a property tax increase to generate $1,511 per student -- twice the amount the district gets now.

Even if the measure passes, Boyer said it's probably only enough to keep the K-6 school open. The district is trying to work out arrangements to place older students in neighboring schools because it can't afford to offer foreign language courses, technology classes and other electives.

While small, rural districts dominate the levy list, larger districts like Bemidji, Duluth, Minneapolis, St. Cloud and Willmar are also holding votes.

In all, the requests total $124 million, said Tom Melcher, a top finance official at the Minnesota Department of Education. If all were successful, the state would end up paying about $5 million because of provisions in law that absorb some levy costs in districts with low property wealth.

If votes held earlier this year are any guide, it will be a tough election night for districts. Ten districts held levy votes between February and September, and four succeeded.

Greg Abbott of the Minnesota School Boards Association said he's not surprised to see fewer referenda. Schools find it tough to break through the campaign clutter in presidential election years, he said.

"There are 40 stories on the presidential race to every story on the school levy," Abbott said. "If you can't get the voters informed of what your levy referendum is going to do they're probably not going to vote for it."

Schools aren't the only ones making information available. The Coalition of Minnesota Businesses created a searchable database -- www.dothemathmn.com -- that crunches school finance figures for every district. The coalition's Jim Bartholomew says the group is neutral, but hopes the site will clear up "conflicting information or incomplete information" that often crops up in levy debates.

There is no organized statewide opposition to the school levies.

Phil Krinkie, president of the conservative Minnesota Taxpayers League, expects some of the levy measures to suffer because of the statewide ballot measure containing the sales tax increase. Voters, he said, might recoil at one or both amid the current economic instability.

"If I ask you to take me out to lunch you might say yes. If I ask you to take me to lunch and dinner you'll probably say no," Krinkie said. "You're coming to people at the same time and asking for them to fund two things they're already paying substantial taxes for."

The school levy campaigns traditionally act as a prelude to the school funding debate state lawmakers take up upon returning to the Capitol early in the year.

Democrats, who control the Legislature heading into the fall election, are promising to rewrite the state's school funding laws to pump more state money into education and buy off some local levies. The trade-off would mean higher state taxes, which leading Republicans say hurts the plan's chances.

Dooher said the system is ripe for a fix and the levy campaigns illustrate why.

"We need to have funding that is equitable so it doesn't matter what ZIP code you live in," he said.

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)