Home Page

North Branch school district needs
operating, building levies to secure future

By Barbara Brown
The North Branch school district voters will face three questions on a Nov. 5 referendum that could secure millions for the district for the coming several years.
If the referenda asking for money to build a new 44-classroom building, increase the amount the school district spends per pupil and set aside money for more land pass, the district probably would not have to come back to voters for several years for increased operating levies.
But, if the levy questions fail, the district will be forced to make dramatic cuts in budget areas from teachers, custodians and paraprofessional staff to supplies, administrative staff and extracurricular activities.
A referendum question has been presented two times to voters; once in the spring of 2001 and once in November 2001.
Both referenda failed, although the numbers of voters in favor of the question of whether to sell bonds up to $27.5 million for a new school increased from spring numbers.
At its Sept. 12 meeting, the North Branch School Board agreed that it would ask the tax payers for an operating levy that would push funding from local and state sources up by $500 per child.
The tax impact of all the questions would be about $29 per month on a house assessed at $150,000.
According to a recent ranking, North Branch falls 323rd of 345 school districts in the state for amounts spent per student in 2001.
ìA question has arisen about whether the school district is spending its money wisely,î schools Superintendent Dr. Robert Stepaniak said. ìI think we are spending our money wisely, but why should North Branch kids be funded any different than South St. Paul kids or Cambridge kids?î
State funding for schools has not kept up with inflation, said Randi Johnson, district finance director, and school districts all over the state are asking voters to approve additional revenue to supplement state and federal funds.
With the stateís touchy financial situation and major changes to the funding formulas for general education, North Branch cannot rely solely on the state to make sure it has enough money to run the schools, Johnson said.
If the building referendum passes this time, the state would pay 65 percent of the cost of the building. It also will fund 50 percent of the operating levy.
The school district currently does not have an operating levy on its rolls, Johnson said.
Johnson said the state Legislature changed education funding formulas in 2001 which wiped away the previously passed levy from 1996. That levy had been expected to last several years.
With the change in funding formulas, the levy disappeared and the school district must approach voters again to ask for money that helps pay for teachers, staff and other expenses in the districtís buildings.
District officials have been working for the past few months at devising a plan to convince voters that the referenda should pass.
Stepaniak said last week that the long term needs of the district call for action now.
Growth is projected by the school district to continue at the same rate it has for the past several years, Johnson said.
But the schools are already overcrowded and about 300 students attend school in leased space.
Also, Stepaniak said if the district does not buy land now, it could spend up to 10 times as much in the future.
Land is necessary, Stepaniak said, because the district eventually will need to build a new building ñ possibly in the Stacy area of the district ñ dependent upon population growth.
ìThe land the district owns now that weíre planning to build a new school on cost $3,500 an acre 10 years ago,î Stepaniak said. ìIt could easily cost 10 times more nowadays.î
As of Oct. 1, the district had estimated it has 3,826 students enrolled in the schools. Thatís up nearly 200 students from the same time last year and up 1,100 students from 10 years ago.
The school district is asking for the voters to approve allowing it to spend $500 per pupil of local money to supplement state money for education in the district for the next seven years.
As of this spring, 266 of Minnesotaís 343 districts had operating levies in place. Those levies range from six cents per pupil to $2,331 per pupil.
The referenda in place in some neighboring districts include: Anoka, $134.46; Braham, $295.76; Cambridge, $1.02; Chisago Lakes, $401.54; Pine City, $837.14; Forest Lake, $650.
While the districtís levy would total about $345 per year for a $150,000 valued home, that amount would drop by nearly $60 in two more school years when the district stops leasing the Trinity Lutheran Church for the intermediate school.
ìWe want to feel our kids have the same advantages as other kids,î Stepaniak said. ìIf we end up staying near the bottom, the opportunities will be different.î
As for voters whose children may have already graduated or who do not have children in the system, Stepaniak and Johnson both encourage them to vote for the referenda.
ìItís returning the favor,î Stepaniak said. ìThe school is the heart of the community and these students one day will grow up to take care of us.î
Johnson added: ìThe community needs to decide if we support public education and what we want our schools to be like.î

Top of Page

©ECM Post Review

6448 Main Street
North Branch, MN 55056
Telephone: 651-674-7025
Fax: 651-674-7026
E-mail: editor.postreview@ecm-inc.com