Apple Valley-Eagan-Rosemount Schools to Ask Voters for Funding in November

After discussion Monday night, weighing the pros and cons of  the 2013 legislative funding session, the District 196 School Board  unanimously agreed to more forward with a levy referendum question on the ballot in the Nov. 5, 2013 General Election.

The single ballot question approved by the board will ask voters to revoke the district’s existing levy for $1,111 per pupil and replace it with a new 10-year levy for $1,486 per pupil, an increase of $375 per pupil. This would generate an additional $10 million per year for the district. The net tax impact of the additional funding would be $184 per year, or approximately $15 per month, for the owner of the average-value home in the district, which is currently $225,000.

If the levy is approved, District 196 staff said it would be able to avoid major staffing and program cuts, totaling $6 million that would be needed for the 2014-15 school year and $23 million more that is projected for the following year based on current budget assumptions. 

Superintendent Jane K. Berenz said the additional funds from an approved levy increase would also allow the district to maintain quality programs that the community expects for its students, including early childhood learning, STEM and college-in-the-schools opportunities.

If the levy is not approved, the district will need to make $6 million in budget cuts for 2014-15 and would initiate a community-wide process to identify additional cuts for the following school year. The cuts for 2014-15 would include class size increases at all grade levels, fewer staff for student support, cuts to curricular and co-curricular programs, increased participation fees and the elimination of some programs, district staff said.

“This vote is an important choice for our community that will determine the direction and future of our district,” Berenz said. “We will be actively informing residents about this vote and what it means for them.”

Regardless of the outcome of the vote, Berenz said the district will implement nearly $4 million in budget adjustments and operational efficiencies that were identified during discussion of potential budget cuts for 2014-15. The largest of these is a $1.5 million reduction in the district’s contribution to employee health insurance premiums, made possible with better-than-expected savings from the district’s switch to a self-insured health plan last year.

 The looming budget shortfalls in District 196 are rooted in a decade of receiving less-than-inflationary funding increases from the state, Berenz said. The 2013 Minnesota Legislature did approve additional funding for education for the current biennium, much of it for new spending to add full-day kindergarten, but increases to the general education formula allowance remain below the traditional rate of inflation, at 1.5 percent per year for this year and next.

The District went on to say state underfunding over the past decade has resulted in a recurring cycle of budget cuts and levy votes in school districts all across Minnesota. Currently, 90 percent of the state’s school districts have a levy referendum, compared to 78 percent in 2003, and the average amount raised from local levies has more than tripled during that same 10-year period.

The $1,111 per pupil that District 196 receives from its existing levy compares to a metro-area average of $1,079 per pupil and statewide average of $1,055 per pupil. The district’s existing levy was approved in 2005 and will expire in two years if not revoked earlier. State law limits the length of operating levies to no more than 10 years. The last time the district asked voters for a levy increase was in 2010 and the question was defeated.

Following the unsuccessful 2010 levy vote, the School Board approved a third straight year of budget adjustments which totaled $34 million over the three years and included the elimination of more than 100 teaching positions. Over the next two years, the board negotiated agreements with two years of no improvements to the salary schedules for nearly every employee group in the district. Berenz said those contracts allowed the district to avoid additional budget cuts last year and this year, but freezes are no longer sustainable if the district hopes to attract and retain top employees who have made it a district of choice for families moving into the area.     

In a random-sample survey of 400 district residents conducted in July, 87 percent rated District 196 teachers excellent or good, which veteran pollster Bill Morris of Decision Resources said is among the highest ratings anywhere in the Midwest.  Survey respondents were also asked their perceptions on district spending, value, trust, community involvement, accountability and preparation of students. On each of these perceptions, Morris said District 196 had among the highest ratings he’s seen in Minnesota over the last two years.

Regarding the district’s existing operating levy, 83 percent of survey respondents said they would support renewal for another 10 years. Nearly two-thirds, 64 percent, said they would vote for a tax increase under some conditions, compared to 21 percent who said they would vote against almost any tax increase for the schools and 15 percent who said they would vote for almost any tax increase for the schools. Based on responses to multiple questions about spending and financial management, Morris said the district has a “very high level of fiscal credibility in the minds of its residents.” 

More information about the levy referendum question will be provided on the district and school websites, and at school meetings and events between now and the election on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Background information provided by staff at District 196

CORRECTION: This post has been updated to fix an error in the sub-headline on taxes charged monthly to district residents. Apple Valley-Rosemount Patch regrets the error.