The case for the Minneapolis school levy request

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School started last week for students in the Minneapolis Public Schools. I live a block from my alma mater South High School, and a few years ago on the first day of school I joined community members outside the school to cheer on South students as they entered the building. Community members clapped, played music and shouted words of encouragement, and high school students looked at us embarrassed. This was a South tradition that I believe sadly ended with the COVID pandemic. But the spirit behind it still stands — our students, teachers and schools need our whole community rallying behind them, and they need us now more than ever before.

I’m a state representative from south Minneapolis; I sit on the Education Finance Committee in the Minnesota House. Day after day, my committee hears stories of schools and school districts across our state that are struggling. Coming out of the pandemic, teachers are asked to not only guide academics in the classroom but to support students with mental health needs. The district is also asked to provide social service support that is vital to keeping kids in school, such as access to health care or stable housing.

Given these deep needs, it’s a time for everyone and every level of government to step up. Supporting our public schools takes all of us working together on multiple fronts. Over the past few years, our DFL Legislature, Gov. Tim Walz, and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan provided historic funding to our schools, but digging out from decades of chronic underfunding takes time, so there’s more work ahead. We passed legislation that addresses literacy, feeds students and supports the school staff who educate and care for our students. Lifting up public education remains a top priority of ours. Cities, counties and the state can collaborate cross-jurisdictionally to support school districts through fiscal and operational challenges, and much of this work is underway.

And there’s something that all community members can do this election year to support the Minneapolis Public Schools and districts across the state. You may have started to see yellow lawn signs with “Vote YES for kids” popping up across your neighborhood. That’s because voters have an immediate opportunity to invest in our local schools by voting yes on school funding ballot questions. MPS is asking voters to approve an increase in the capital projects levy, often called a tech levy. The increase would provide the district with an additional $20 million to cover existing expenses related to technology (cybersecurity, student and staff technology needs, data systems, IT staff, etc.). The district is not proposing new technology spending but rather is attempting to cover current costs that would then free up $20 million in the general fund. While this may not fully address budget shortfalls, it would help significantly as the district continues to work on enrolling more students and ensuring fiscal and operational sustainability.

Unlike cities and counties, our local school districts cannot raise local property tax levies without going to voters. So MPS is asking the voters to pitch in for our kids and our schools, with the average home ($350,000) seeing an increase of $8 per month (less than a pork chop on a stick at the State Fair!).

Some have rightly asked why MPS would need to ask voters to increase property taxes when the Legislature just passed historic education funding. The reality is that the funding provided over the past two years is only a start on what is needed. MPS received $250 million in one-time pandemic aid from the federal government that has been used. During that same period, the district saw declining enrollment, which impacts funding, and while the district is excited to welcome many new English-learner students, the state only covers roughly half of the cost of EL teachers (although we passed laws in 2023 that will close this gap in the next few years).