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State voters back most school levies

BY BRIAN BAKST
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MINNESOTA

MINNEAPOLIS -- The closest thing to a statewide race on Minnesota ballots Tuesday was a flood of school districts asking for money.

In a record season for school levy referenda, 183 districts -- more than half of those in the state -- urged residents to give up some of their state-approved property tax relief and put it into their area schools.

Results came in slowly, but the early returns were promising for school districts. At 10:45 p.m., the Minnesota School Boards Association reported that 57 levies had prevailed and 17 went down.

One of the failed levies was in Osseo, a referendum that drew fierce opposition from Gov. Jesse Ventura, the district's most famous resident.

Each of the levy campaigns had its own circumstances, but many were fed by the notion that state funding hasn't been sufficient to keep programs intact and teachers on staff.

Big changes to state tax laws lent statewide interest to Tuesday's results, and got leaders involved all the way up to Ventura, who loudly criticized Osseo and others for what he considered misleading campaigns.

Osseo Superintendent Chris Richardson said Ventura's vocal opposition probably "cast doubt in the minds of residents.''

"He has every right as a parent and a taxpayer to vote no,'' Richardson said. "But we object to the governor using his political office to promote a personal viewpoint.''

Richardson said $2 million in cuts will stick and another $7 million to $8 million in reductions will have to be made.

Education experts warned about reading too much into the results as a judgment about the adequacy of state education funding.

"We're only guessing when we try to decide what individual voters are thinking and how that would translate into a mass message,'' said Christine Jax, Minnesota's education commissioner.

The referenda -- known as excess levies -- raise money that can go for classroom supplies, teacher salaries and other expenses. Some districts also wanted permission to issue bonds for building projects.

The Buffalo School District, for example, had three questions on the ballot -- two for building projects totaling $39 million and the other for $1 million per year in operating funds.

The district has had mixed success with referenda in recent years, creating an atmosphere of cautious optimism this time around. Voters were advised going in that if they backed all three it would cost them $366 per year on a property tax bill for a $150,000 house.

"Like other places, it gets to be about how much people think they can afford,'' said Tom Nelson, Buffalo's superintendent.

Around the state, district leaders had the luxury of telling voters they would enjoy a smaller property tax bill next year even if they approved a levy.

Thanks to a Ventura-championed tax overhaul, the state is footing a greater share of the education bill with income and sales taxes and relieving the burden on property taxes.

The levies by school districts and local governments will eat into the reductions, but state officials say the relief should still be noticeable next year.

"The governor doesn't want to see people undo tax relief,'' Jax said. "But if they are going to undo tax relief, it is going to be a locally made decision.''