| District 15, chamber offer forums to inform voters |
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| Wednesday, 14 October 2009 | |
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Staff writer Voters in St. Francis School District 15 will cast their ballots for two operating levies and three school board candidates Nov. 3. To help voters get all their questions answered before entering the voting booth, District 15 is holding two community forums on the levies and the St. Francis Area Chamber of Commerce and the St. Francis Area Women of Today will be hosting a candidate forum. The levy meetings will be Tuesday, Oct. 20 at St. Francis High School’s Performing Arts Center and Thursday, Oct. 22 at East Bethel Community School. Both meetings start at 7 p.m. “We want provide every possible opportunity to get (the levy) information to the public and for people to get all their questions answered,” said Tom Larson, community eduction director. The meetings will cover how the school board made its decision on the operating levy amounts, why the district is asking the voters to consider passing the two levies and what the impact will be if the levies are passed or voted down. The first question asks voters to consider boosting the operating levy revenue by $290 per pupil for the next five years. Currently the district receives $21 per pupil from an operating levy, said Mae Hawkins, business affairs director. Without the levies, the district will receive zero per pupil, she said. If approved, the new operating levy would cost a property owner with a home valued at $250,000 about $150.50 a year. The levy would also help the district avoid having to cut $1.6 million in the 2010-2011 school year, Larson said. The second operating levy question, which is contingent on first question passing, asks for an additional $75 per pupil over the next five years. If approved, the levy would save the district from cutting an additional $465,000 in 2010-2011, Larson said. The additional school taxes on a home valued at $250,000 would be $38.92. If both operating levies were to pass Nov. 3 the total increase would be $365 per pupil and carry a total tax impact for a home valued at $250,000 of $190 a year. If passed, the total levy amount is less than the levy that expired at the end of the 2008-2009 school year, Larson said. But even if the two levy questions are approved, District 15 “will still be at the bottom of the per pupil funding in the northern metro districts,” he said. If approved, the levies would allow the district to remain at the current staffing and program levels, said Larson. The flip side If the no votes carry the day Nov. 3, the district will be looking at further cuts. Without the levies, the district will have to cut more than $2 million in 2010-2011, Larson said. With people representing more than 80 percent of the district’s budget, the cuts will result in job losses, reduced school programs, increased fees and less opportunities for the students, he said. In the last two years, the district has cut its budget by $7.5 million. Eighty staff members, including 40 teachers, have been given pink slips, the elementary art program has been erased, activity fees have increased by $100 and the schools are only cleaned every other day. No cuts have been targeted as of yet, Larson said. The Financial Planning Action Committee will review the options after the election and make recommendations to the board, he said. Candidate forum District 15 has seven candidates running for three open board seats, which are currently held by Dave Anderson, Harry Grams and Renee Lipinski. Wednesday, Oct. 21 the public will get a chance to meet the contenders and ask them questions at the St. Francis Area Chamber of Commerce and the St. Francis Area Women of Today candidate forum. The forum will start at 7 p.m. at District 15 Central Services Center, 4115 Ambassador Blvd. All the candidates have been invited and chamber president David Johnson will officiate, said Alicia Loehlein, chamber service representative. During the two-hour forum, Johnson will ask the candidates questions posed by the audience, she said. Tammy Sakry is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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