On November 5th, the School District will be asking voters to consider a ballot question to renew our current operating levy that has been in place for the past nine years and will expire in 2021. Under current law, operating referendums are valid for up to 10 years, at which point a school board must seek voter approval to renew the referendum. At the August 12th, 2019 school board meeting, the board passed a resolution with a 6-0 vote to declare it necessary to renew the School District’s existing referendum revenue authorization of $625.69 per pupil that is scheduled to expire after taxes payable in 2020. The proposed referendum revenue authorization would first be levied in 2020 for taxes payable in 2021 and applicable for ten years unless otherwise revoked or reduced as provided by law. With a renewal, we are asking the voters to just extend the property tax referendum and there would not be an increase on current property taxes. The reason the district is asking for a renewal on this operating levy is due to state aid not keeping up with inflation. Without the additional local money that equates to $458,084 per year, we would not be able to provide the current programs and staffing that we currently have. This could mean reduction in staff, larger class sizes, less class offerings, and a reduction in technology. Even as the total state aid for each student has continued to rise by 2% each of the last four years from the legislature, the buying power relative to these increases has not kept up with the inflationary costs of running schools. Adjusted for inflation, the buying power of our current dollars is actually less than in 2003 which has necessitated 97% of Minnesota School Districts to pass referendums to close this gap in funding.
Included is a tax impact table to show the impact that the renewal question will have on taxpayers. The way that you use this chart is to take your assessed value and follow the column over to the right to get your impact if the question passes, per year. For instance, if your house is assessed at 125,000 dollars, the passage of the question will result in a $4 dollar per year savings. The reason that everyone will experience a slight savings is due to an overall increasing tax base since the last election, an estimated decrease in pupil units in pay 2021, and a legislative change that moves some money from the taxpayer to state aid.
For agricultural property (both homestead and non-homestead), the taxes for the proposed referendum renewal will be based on the value of the house, garage and one acre of land. There will be no referendum taxes paid on the value of agricultural land and buildings. For seasonal recreational residential property (e.g., cabins), there will be no taxes paid for the proposed referendum.
Homestead Residential, Apartments, and Commercial/Industrial Properties
| Market Value | Expiring Levy Authority | Renewed Levy Authority | Difference between Expiring Levy Authority and Renewed Levy Authority |
| $50,000 | $-66 | $65 | -$1 |
| 75,000 | -99 | 97 | -2 |
| 100,000 | -133 | 130 | -3 |
| 125,000 | -166 | 162 | -4 |
| 150,000 | -199 | 195 | -4 |
| 175,000 | -232 | 227 | -5 |
| 200,000 | -265 | 259 | -6 |
| 225,000 | -298 | 292 | -6 |
| 250,000 | -331 | 324 | -7 |
| 275,000 | -365 | 357 | -8 |
| 300,000 | -398 | 389 | -9 |
| 325,000 | -431 | 421 | -10 |
| 350,000 | -464 | 454 | -10 |
| 375,000 | -497 | 486 | -11 |
| 400,000 | -530 | 519 | -11 |
| 425,000 | -564 | 551 | -13 |
| 450,000 | -597 | 584 | -13 |
| 475,000 | -630 | 616 | -14 |
| 500,000 | -663 | 648 | -15 |
| 550,000 | -729 | 713 | -16 |
In order to ensure that you have the information that you need to make an informed decision on November 5th, 2019 we are providing a public meeting/information session on Wednesday, October 9th at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium. Absentee ballots will be available for voters on Friday, September 20th through election day in the district office from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm. All district precincts, no matter where you live in the Murray County Central School District, will be voting at the designated combined polling place which is the Slayton Senior Center on Broadway Ave. As always, if you have individual questions or would like to meet individually or in a small group about the referendum please contact me at 507-836-6575 or Joe_Meyer@mcc.mntm.org.