It’s almost like they had New Prague in mind. In addition to the biennial funding increase the Minnesota Legislature sent to school districts this spring, public schools were allowed to renew an expiring levy without voter approval. For some, it was a godsend.
In New Prague, the legislation allowed the school board to approve the $246.70 per levy one time for six years without voter approval. This is as close to free money as it gets.
The $246.70 levy is the same levy voters rejected last fall. As a result of the rejected levy, the district went through about $3 million in one-time spending cuts. Without the mana from St. Paul, the district would have been back to voters this fall asking for renewal of the $246.70. Had the voters nixed the request, it would mean another $1 million in spending cuts.
But the legislation will spare the district having to ask for the $246.70 per student. It is expected the school board will present residents this fall with a request for some additional revenue atop the $246.70. Andy Vollmuth, the new New Prague School District boss will lead the effort to propose and explain the need for the additional revenue. Can he put together a cogent presentation? The board is confident he can.
But in the eyes of many voters, the district will have to explain why it is asking for additional money when the school board voted to renew a levy request voters previously rejected. During the public comment period Monday, June 26, Rick Eckstein took the board to task for taking advantage of the legislative end-around.
Maybe it’s a distinction without a difference, but the board would have been wellserved by informing the public ahead of time it planned to consider the opportunity state lawmakers provided to renew the $246.70 per student one time for six years. A golfer might consider it a mulligan. A public hearing would have been a wise investment of time. The issue would have likely passed since board members aren’t going to turn down an opportunity like this. The board could tell the public it was the subject of a public hearing and public comment was welcomed and considered.
That’s not an argument the district can make. Mr. Eckstein won’t be the only one asking the board why it OK’d renewing a levy voters previously rejected.
The $246.70 is worth about $1 million to the district. The $246.70 per student levy authority was slated to lapse at the end of the year. Without it, more budget reductions and fee increases would likely come about. There are people who are not thrilled with the outcome of the most recent reductions. There were one-time cuts in administrative spending. Principals agreed to a wage freeze. There have been complaints about the reduction of middle school sports the district hopes will be picked up by the associations.
Cutting another $1 million would mean middle school sports would not be the only casualties of cuts. Class sizes would likely increase. There would likely be more reductions in spending on the things that are nice to provide for students and the community.
If the New Prague School District asks voters this fall for authority to levy additional dollars, people will have to make their own decision on how they vote. Will the request be smaller had the board not OK’d the $246.70 without the public’s OK? We’ll see.
Stay tuned.