Together, Minneapolis and St. Paul Public Schools are responsible for educating more than 73,000 students — a significant portion of the region's future workforce. To maintain and improve the quality of instruction for those young minds, both cities' school leaders are asking taxpayers to pay more for education.
Twin Cities voters should approve the school bond and operating levy requests in the two core cities. The urban districts share significant challenges — including higher numbers of low-income, English-learning and special-needs students whose education legitimately requires more resources. For example, school leaders told the Star Tribune Editorial Board that about a dozen of their students were living in the south Minneapolis homeless tent encampment, where three people have died in recent weeks.
Like many Minnesota districts, the state's core cities have incorporated excess-levy revenue into their standard operating budgets. Though the original intent of such levies was to get voter approval for capital improvements and "extras," many districts now depend on them for a growing portion of basic spending. That contributes to per-pupil spending inequities between districts, based on property tax capacity.
And in our view, it continues to be unfair for schools to be the only taxpayer-supported entity that must ask voters — repeatedly — for funding. That's not required of either city or county boards that also help set property tax rates. And even though state funding has increased over the years, it has not kept up with inflation. Nor have the state or federal governments come close to covering mandated services for special-education students, contributing to district financial shortfalls.
Minneapolis (MPS)
The MPS Strong campaign seeks a two-part, $30 million referendum. The first question asks voters to increase the existing operating levy to the state-allowed maximum, to raise $18 million. That authority would increase each year by the rate of inflation and be applicable for seven years. The second question would authorize a capital-projects levy to raise $12 million for technology and data systems. That would allow MPS to free up that amount in the general fund for other uses. The annual property tax impact of the two questions would be $224 annually on a residential homestead property worth $400,000. For a commercial property worth $1 million, the increase would be $634 per year.
This 2018 referendum follows a successful 2016 referendum in which voters renewed, but were not asked to increase, an existing levy. It is supported by a range of community, union, political and business leaders.
St. Paul (SPPS)
