The ‘Strong Schools, Strong City’ referendum

This November, Minneapolis voters will be asked to vote for a property tax increase to dedicate $60 million per year, for eight years, to Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS). Called the “Strong Schools, Strong City” referendum, the tax increase would provide funds to increase and improve math and science education, support early reading programs, buy new textbooks and technology, and lower class sizes.

The levy would renew — and double — an expiring referendum passed in 2000. Should the 2008 referendum fail, MPS would need to cut from its annual budget the $30 million vacuum left by the expiring levy. MPS estimates those cuts would mean the layoff of up to 350 teachers and class-size increases of up to 10 students per class.

According to a tax-impact chart compiled by MPS, the proposed referendum would increase the overall total property tax bill by 6 percent for most properties. (See tax impact chart for residential properties, provided by the MPS, here.)

For commercial and industrial properties, the proposed levy would increase taxes $743 per year for $500,000 properties (the citywide median value is $440,750) and $2,973 per year for properties worth $2 million. The existing, expiring levy currently costs those properties $340 and $1,358 per year, respectively.

In information from the MPS website, district officials defend the increase, saying it will put Minneapolis on par with most metro-area suburban school districts in terms of spending per student. The district currently spends $615 per student per year and proposes to increase that to $1,200 per year.

According to John Fitzgerald, an education researcher at the non-partisan public policy think-tank Minnesota 2020, what voters are really being asked to approve is a stop-gap to cover the $30 million shortfall in the MPS’s budget, stemming from insufficient aid from the state.

The referendum money will be overseen by a committee led by two former state finance commissioners, Jay Kiedrowski and John Gunyou. That committee — the makeup of which has not yet been finalized — will regularly give reports to the board, and its annual audits of how referendum money is spent will be available to the public.

While every single use for the money has yet to be spelled out, Deputy Superintendant Bernadina Johnson described some of the flagship programs that MPS has in mind for the referendum money. More than half of the $60 million would be devoted to maintaining and/or reducing class sizes, on top of what the district would normally allocate, by hiring new teachers and teaching assistants.

Money would also go to expand successful math, science, and early reading programs, and curricula that the district has been testing at smaller scales, in order to make them available to all MPS students. As examples, Johnson pointed to increasing access to the district’s popular algebra summer camps and greatly increasing the number of literacy coaches throughout the entire school system.

Lastly, some funding will be directed to buying new textbooks and technology for classrooms, as well as implementing a new counseling program called AVID that aims to intervene long before students become candidates for special education or disciplinary action.

Proposed changes to Minneapolis School Board elections

Overshadowed by the contentious “Strong Schools, Strong City” referendum, another ballot question would change the way Minneapolis elects its School Board.

The board is the governing body for the district, setting policy and allocating funds. All seven current members are elected “at-large” by all Minneapolis voters and do not represent a particular neighborhood. All but one are from South Minneapolis.

Residents of Northside and Northeast Minneapolis have complained that the needs of their schools are not given as much attention as those in South Minneapolis.

The referendum proposes to change the board so that six members are elected by specific neighborhoods in the city, with three “at large” members elected by all Minneapolis voters. This system is currently used by the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board; initially, the School Board members’ districts would correspond to those of the Park Board.

The referendum stems from legislation proposed by Rep. Jim Davnie and passed in 2006 that was subsequently voted down, 4–3, by the School Board last December.

If passed, the changes will be phased in over the 2010 and 2012 elections.

last revised: October 21, 2008

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