Schools

School Board Mulls Levy Options

Once the district finds out where state funding lands, it will have a clearer picture of whether to ask residents to vote a levy this November.

If state funding for schools remains flat, District 833 is more likely to ask voters for a renewal of its operating levy in the fall of 2012 rather than this November.

The South Washington County School Board on Thursday took a look at its options regarding the possibility of a new levy. The district’s existing operating levy expires in the 2013-14 school year.

Nearly 78 percent of the district’s funding comes from the state—and the Legislature has yet to settle on school funding. As would be expected, members of a citizens advisory group concluded that if the state decreases funding for education, the likelihood of District 833 asking for a levy this fall increases.

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That doesn’t mean a reduction in state funding would automatically trigger a levy initiative, said Superintendent Mark Porter, briefing the board about discussions from the Citizen’s Finance Advisory Committee (CFAC). The group could not settle on a “tipping point” for a levy vote, Porter said, and there are other unknown budget impacts, such as teacher contracts, that will also be determined later.

This year’s legislative session is set to adjourn May 23—though many speculate that it may be extended—and the district would have until Aug. 26 to approve a resolution for a ballot question this fall.

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If the district is planning to ask voters to renew the levy, school officials must have a strong argument for why, said board member Jim Gelbmann. Recalling previous levy initiatives, he said the district could suffer some backlash by asking for a levy before it’s set to expire and with such a strong fund balance currently in place.

“Don’t ask for something that you don’t absolutely need,” Gelbmann said.

He also reported that about half the members of the East Metro Integration District are considering levies for 2011.

Board member Laurie Johnson said the district should also be able to roll out a list of strategic initiatives to better demonstrate to voters where their tax dollars will go.

Most of the 15 members of CFAC seemed to think that it would be more likely for the district to put the levy on the ballot in 2012, said board member David Kemper, who has been meeting with the group along with Gelbmann and district administration.

In recent years, the district has been more open about its financial operations, Porter said, and was once more "clandestine" in its processes. He called CFAC a "fascinating group" and said its members are generally fiscally conservative.

The district this summer will conduct a survey of residents to get their impressions of a potential levy, Porter said. The most recent survey data is from 2007; the district is talking with Decision Resources about conducting the survey, he said.

For the 2010-11 school year, 16 percent of the district’s budget came from the levy, Finance Director Aaron Bushberger said.

The district has been spending down its fund balance over the past few years to get it between 5-9 percent of the overall budget, he said. But there is more financial pressure placed on the district by doing so because of the unclear funding picture from the Legislature.

Bushberger provided the board with data on statewide referendum results from 1991-2010:

Odd years

  • Pass: 681
  • Fail: 281
  • 70.8 percent success rate among 762 total.

Presidential Election Years

  • Pass: 170
  • Fail: 160
  • 51.5 percent success rate among 330 total.

Other Even Years

  • Pass: 227
  • Fail: 213
  • 51.6 percent success rate among 440 total.

The overall success rate was 62.2 percent among 1,732 total.


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