St. Michael-Albertville Schools Will Ask Voters to Approve Operating Levy

Though 2011 isn’t a big election year, the St. Michael-Albertville School District hopes local voters will come out to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 8 in support of the school district as they ask for an additional $195 per pupil from taxpayers.

The proposed $695 levy would replace a $500 levy that was approved in 2004, and the additional $195 per pupil this levy would bring in equals approximately $1.2 million in additional funds for the school district each year over the next 10 years.

On a $200,000 home, this would equal out to $88 per year or an additional $7.33 per month over what residents currently pay.

Here’s the breakdown for how those funds would be used: 

• $500,000 per year to make up for lost federal funding, which will take effect next year

• $300,000 to maintain current technology offerings and keep it up to date

• $300,000 to $400,000 to cover inflationary costs like utility and transportation costs as well as to perform maintenance and repairs on school buildings.

The guidelines were determined by a levy committee made up of board members, staff, teachers, parents and general community members. The committee suggested this levy amount because of its prudency, sticking to the bare bones needed to keep the district functioning as-is.

“I think the [levy] committee has a pretty good feel for the pulse of the community in terms of what the community would support for tax increases,” board member Jeff Lindquist said. “In this current environment that is something we have to be very cognizant of. For many reasons we may be tempted to increase that number, but we have to be very realistic … of what our constituents are willing to pay in this economy.”

Another big reason for choosing $695 is because the state subsidizes local levies up to $700, chipping in 44 percent of the cost. For this levy the state would subsidize $514,000 per year and local taxpayers would fund $650,000. Any amount over $700 would be fully funded by local taxes, so keeping the levy amount at this level gives taxpayers and the school the most bang for their buck.

“We just tried to maximize the leverage from state aid,” Superintendent Dr. Jim Behle said.

Behle said that this $695 levy, if passed, still falls well below the average operating levy of $950 per student in the state of Minnesota. Currently, the STMA school district ranks 329 out of 339 state schools in terms of how much funding they receive per pupil for special and general education. If their levy passes that ranking will go to 321 out of 339. Despite this comparatively low funding level, Behle said that the school district is recognized to be in the top 20 percent for academic achievement as measured by state standardized testing.

Though the school board had the option of adding in language that would tie the levy amount to inflation, the board decided against it.

Behle said the district has kept their budget cutting away from the classroom to limit any impact on students learning. However, they have cut and reorganized staffing positions to save dollars.

He said school officials and board members will be on hand and eager to discuss the details of this levy with any individual or group leading up to the Nov. 8 election, and he hopes a community group will step forward to help the levy succeed as one did in 2004.

Luckily for the district, 2011 ranks as a better year to pass a referendum compared to other possible years. According to the Minnesota Department of Education, 70.8 percent of levies were successful on odd years from 1991-2010. In an even year that success percentage dips to 51.6 percent. In all, 62.2 percent of school levies passed out of 1,732 proposed in this time span.