Levy Referendum Information

Good questions are raised regarding the Operating Levy Referendum that is on the ballot at the November 8 election and I will provide answers to some of these questions as they arise.

What is an operating levy?  This is a voter approved levy that provides funding beyond what the state aid formula provides. This funding is generated through property taxes and goes to support the General Fund. The General Fund provides for the day to day operations of the school district. The operating levy does not support capital expenditures such as building construction or the purchase of equipment or textbooks. The Food Service Fund, Community Service (education) Fund, and Debt Service Funds are separate funds not associated with the General Fund or the operating levy. The current voter approved operating levy of $426 per pupil was passed in 2002.
         
Over 90% of the school districts in the state are reliant on operating levies for the day to day    
operation of their school districts. Our cost per student is lower than any of our surrounding school   
districts and well below the state average. Without the operating levy we would need to reduce spending considerably, which would have direct impacts on class sizes, course offerings, pupil transportation, student activities and General Fund supported programs and personnel.

Why do we need it?
The district budgeted for a $785,000 deficit this year, which will be financed by reserves that can be used for this purpose. The first round of federal stimulus ended June 30. State aid was frozen the past two years. Enrollment increases are projected to be minimal and expenditures are projected at 1.32% during the next several years.

Added to this is the state's shifting of 40% of state aid into the next school year, causing the district to cash flow the shortfall. One goal of the school board is to maintain a fund balance sufficient to avoid interest expense associated with cash flow borrowing. The new operating levy will provide that.

China Visitors

This week we are hosting our visitors from our sister school in Tanguu, China. Fourteen students and six staff members are learning about Delano Schools and Minnesota. Click here for an interview I conducted with our guests. 

Do Schools Need Operating Levies?

Claims are being made that the legislature has provided sufficient funding to schools so that schools don’t need operating levies.

The state increased per pupil funding by what amounts to $60 per student each year in the biennium. In FY13 they put in a $52 per student literacy incentive that is calculated based on the number of students proficient in reading in the 3rd grade times the number of students in the building (estimated to come out to about $38,000 total for Delano).

Last spring our financial planning models that were developed by PMA Financial Network, Inc., the district’s investment advisors, did not account for this as the model was developed prior to the adjournment of the legislature. The increase amounts to about $137,000 each year plus about $38,000 more for the literacy incentive in the second year. This increase won’t have much of an impact on our situation as related to the levy. The $785,000 deficit that we have this year, which will be funded by reserves in order to maintain current level of programming, could be reduced by these dollars. The overall effect of the increase is that it extends by a few days how long the levy will last with costs of operation at $366,678 per week.

It’s interesting to note that legislators are talking about how these increases should deter schools from needing to pass levies when $50 of the $60 per student was passed with the intention to help schools pay interest charges for cash flow borrowing brought on by the legislature shifting 40% of what they owe schools this year into the next year to help the state balance the budget.

Click here to see a response from the Commissioner of Education, Brenda Cassellius that appeared in TwinCities.com Pioneer Press.

Chamber of Commerce Presentation

Click here to see the presentation regarding the operating levy that will be on the ballot on November 8.

Levy Referendum Meetings

I will continue to host informational meetings regarding the November 8 levy referendum in the high school cafeteria at 7:00 p.m. on the following dates: Tuesday, September 20; Tuesday, September 27; and Thursday, September 29.

You will learn answers to questions such as "why is the levy doubling?" The fallacy behind claims that schools have enough money to maintain current operations. The consequences of the recommended $800,000 in reductions if the levy fails.

Mr. Spanier's Class

Today I visited Mr. Spanier's  8th grade Gateway to Technology class. This class is part of our Project Lead the Way curriculum that emphasizes Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The purpose of this unit is to investigate a technological artifact and find out its history and impact on civilization and how it may be used differently today. Click here to see an interview with Mr. Spanier and students investigating the telephone.

Informational meeting re levy referendum

I will be hosting the first of several informational meetings about the upcoming operating levy referendum on Thursday, September 15 beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the high school cafeteria. Click here for further information about the ballot issue.

Delano Receives Energy Star Rating

We were notified today that we have achieved the the Environment Protection Association's ENERGY STAR rating. The ENERGY STAR program was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce green house gas emissions through energy efficiency. Products and buildings that earn this rating are recognized in preventing greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the federal government. You will see the ENERGY STAR decal around the buildings.

Our staff needs to be recognized for their efforts in helping to reduce energy usage in all our buildings. Since December 2010 we have avoided more than $12,000 in energy costs by changing how we use energy.