Education funding in the state of Minnesota is broken down and, as a result, Brainerd School District voters are being asked to step up to the plate on Nov. 8 and support the school district’s operating levy requests.
While renewing or increasing operating levies for our schools is never a pleasant task, it’s an investment in our community’s future that must be made. Look at the big picture and envision the Brainerd School District’s future if our schools are forced to continue without stable funding. It’s not a pretty picture.
The state has abrogated its constitutional responsibility to adequately support education and has “borrowed” from school funds in order to balance its own budget. As a result of Minnesota’s inconsistent funding, about 90 percent of the state’s school districts have local levies to support education.
Brainerd’s current operating levy, which is about to expire, is $199 per student. This compares to the state average for a local levy of $936 per student. The current levy, which is almost a decade old, woefully underfunds the district. Brainerd School District Superintendent Steve Razidlo said local levies are on average 14 percent of a district’s general education revenue, while Brainerd’s current levy is 3 percent of the district’s general education revenue.
Consider that despite the city of Brainerd’s double-digit unemployment figure, Brainerd area manufacturers said this past week they’re having a hard time finding qualified workers. As more baby boomers reach retirement age, the Brainerd area is going to need every skilled worker it can retain. Without good schools the challenge of filling important jobs in a variety of fields is going to be daunting.
If both questions — approving $199 per student in referendum revenue and increasing that support by an additional $200 — fail the Brainerd School District will have no choice but to make drastic cuts that will involve the elimination of both staff and programs.
This decision affects more than just those people who have children attending schools now. Similar to the construction of streets and bridges, the education of our young people is a function of government that benefits the entire community.
The Brainerd School District has done more with less and its students have continued to excel in academic pursuits. This exemplary performance by the students won’t continue if academic programs are gutted and significant numbers of staff layoffs are made.
We encourage district residents to vote yes on both Question No. 1 and Question No. 2 on Nov. 8.
Comments (13)
Add commentThis levy is a farce
I hope that people considering voting for this levy actually ask questions. The school gets a little over $5000.00 dollars per student from the State of Minnesota. That is part of the reason they have open enrollment. 82% of all the money they get goes to administration and teachers salaries. Think about it that leaves 18% to be divided up for other things. Roughly 2% only goes for the students. This is not even counting federal money they get. Why should the residents of Brainerd area have to pay more property taxes? Administration and others should take pay cuts and be thankful they have jobs.
Questions on Levy
I have been reading alot about the levy and have a few questions. How many employees vs students are there? What is the average, max and min salaries of the employees? What is the annual budget and is it true that 82% goes to employees? How does this rate vs other schools in the state that compare in size the Brainerd.
Thanks for any info you can give me.
82%
Brainerd schools get $5000 per kid --- true. Shoney, how do you figure that explains open enrollment?
Schools, banks, insurance companies, churches- all provide a service. There is no tangible product produced. In service industries such as these, an annual budget is mostly salaries.
Of course 82% of the school budget is salaries. Think about industry-- money is spent on heavy machinery, raw materials (like lumber at a mill), and on advertising, to name a few.
Schools spend very little of big machinery, raw materials and some on advertising in relation to such an industry...there's some cost on transportation... it follows that salaries are their big expense...
Banks also, I suspect, spend little on machinery, raw materials, and so forth -- so I would bet we'd find they spend a big chunk of their money on salaries as well.
I have yet to walk into an insurance office and see large machinery in place cranking out a product. They spend their money on salaries.
So,it is no big deal that 82% of a service organization is towards salaries after all, is it?
Service industries
Think of it this way ...
Schools, banks, hotels, insurance offices, government entities like city halls -- these all provide a service. These have very little expense in heavy equipment - I would wager that Anderson Brothers Construction Company spends a great deal in trucks, equipment and raw material to make their roads.
When I walk in a bank, I don't see huge machines at the desks.
When I walk in a hotel, I don't see bags of cotton used to build mattresses. When I walk into an insurance office, there are neither machines nor raw materials on the budget of any great expense.
Services such as these spend their money on salaries, for the most part. Eighty percent seems quite standard under these considerations.
never
the dispatch has NEVER said no to a school referendum in 45 years. this one in a scam when we do not know how the NEW property tax mess will work? they are rushing it to beat the new tax system!
dakotam
Go to the district website (isd181.org) and go the levy link. Most of your questions are already answered there. For those that aren't answered just type a question to the district and they will answer them for you. In fact if you call Steve Lund, the business manager, he could probably give them to you off the top of his head.
One fact: Since the implementation of the stimulus dollars that allowed the district to reduce the class sizes at the elementary schools, each and every elementary school in the district has achieved AYP under the No Child Left Behind Act. And those standards have become higher during that time.
Open enrollment more kids
Open enrollment more kids more money from state just that simple. More of the money should go towards the kids. Why should the residents of Brainerd have to pay more property taxes especially those that do not have any kids in school.?
Pay it forward
I don't have any kids in school...never had, never will. I do have nieces and nephews in school districts in various parts of the country. Someone elses tax dollars in those areas is used to help educate my family members. In return, my tax money is used to help educate someone elses children and grandchildren. We were very poor when I was growing up; the tax money my parents paid could never have covered the costs of educating the children in my family. I give thanks every day for those nameless, faceless taxpayers whose money helped educate my brothers and sister and me so that we could grow up to support ourselves and help contribute to the well-being of our society. I have a responsibility to pay it forward to ensure that the children of today will be prepared for the unknown challenges that they will face in their future. I will be investing in my future, in my family's future and in our society's future by voting YES YES!
'shoney' a/k/a 'mary' wants
'shoney' a/k/a 'mary' wants to know why Brainerd residents "have to pay more property taxes especially those that do not have any kids in school.?"
Gee, what a great question! While you're at it, Why should you have to pay taxes for building and repairing roads that you don't use?
For that matter, why should you pay for the cost of the police department if you haven't been the victim of a crime?
If your house isn't on fire, perhaps you shoudn't have to pay for the cost of maintaining a Fire department?
Don't go to the parks? Why should your taxes pay for them?
What's truly sad is that when times are tough, the loudest voices in this space want to abandon the young, the poor, the unemployed, the ill and the elderly:
Public schools? -- Who needs'em?
The poor? -- "Let 'em eat cake"
The unemployed? -- Too bad, but we don't care
The elderly? -- Sorry, but we're going to slash Social Security
The sick -- Gee...Too bad you lost your health insurance when you lost your job, but we're going to do kill any form of national health care.
And to everyone else, don't worry -- the Republican party will put an end to the recession by cutting the taxes of the wealthy.
Paying for educating the next
Paying for educating the next generation is self serving.
Starving it of necessary funding is penny wise and pound foolish.
I don't have any kids either but feel that it's my obligation to put into the system that has supported me and everyone else.
The current peddling of selfishness as a political position is going to destroy this country if left unchecked.
Ignorance is bliss, or is it?
To quote the great Thomas Jefferson "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
This is absolutely the worst time to make cuts to our future.
Where's your evidence?
Moonhawk says the referendum is a scam. Where is your evidence? Just saying it doesn't make it so.
....and to add to the list of things that you pay taxes for, remember this. The kids you educate today are the ones that will take care of you in the nursing home.