GSL’s levy referendum: Get out and get informed
Recently, the Glencoe-Silver Lake School District held the first in a series of informational meetings concerning the operations levy referendum set for Nov. 5. The problem was, no one showed up, except me, the newspaper editor and a couple of school officials. The turnout wasn’t any better at meetings in New Auburn and Biscay.
Where was everyone? Several other meetings were held around the GSL district since that initial debacle. Not sure if anyone showed up for them either.
No one seems too concerned about the Nov. 5 vote. No one seems to be talking about it either. But they should on both accounts. This is a vitally important matter to the school district and its students.
Currently, the special operations levy now in place helps fund the general operations of the district. It is about to expire next June 30, unless voters in the GSL district approve its extension for another 10 years.
The levy referendum failed once already during last year’s general election. It was not on voters’ radars then either. Another factor is the district was asking for more than is now in place.
Currently, the operations levy generates an additional $176.88 per pupil unit. The school board wants that to increase by another $283.12 or rise to $460 per pupil unit. The main reason for asking for more is to maximize state aid to GSL, which would result in another $113,000.
To approve the referendum extension results in an increase in property taxes. That’s the only way school districts raise additional money to operate. On the other hand, the city and county simply raise taxes without having to seek public approval.
There is another big change this election. There will be just one polling place for the entire district. In the past, each community had its own polling site.
This taxing cycle, especially in Glencoe, will see a dramatic increase in property taxes. If approved, the GSL request, lumped together with tax increases and special assessments on the city and county level, will result in a nasty tax hike next year.
That said, the needs of the school district rarely go down, and usually go up. Now may be the good time for the school district to also tighten its financial belt. The district has been overspending its budget for the past several years and using reserve funds to do it.
GSL has been blessed with healthy reserves ever since it worked its way out of statutory operating debt in the 2000s. In the wake of those severe budget cuts and awful gnashing of teeth, the school board did one of the most prudent things it could. It set a limit on how far the reserve funds could fall before automatic budget cuts kick in. That level was set at about 20 percent of its budget.
GSL is at or nearly at that level now. It will definitely have to make cuts if the current operations levy referendum is not extended in November. The cuts may be deep and into favorite programs for 2020-21. Anyone around in the early-2000s will remember just how painful and depressing those budget cuts can be.
We don’t want to go there again, believe me. It was ugly to watch and even uglier to report.
Property taxpayers need to get involved in the next several weeks. If not, expect some nasty cuts next spring when the school board looks at how to make up for lost levy funds.
As incentive, the school administration should give the public an idea of where those estimated $300,000 cuts will occur. Will it be to sports programs? Staff reductions? How about elective courses?
A yes vote Nov. 5 will avoid those tough decisions next spring. So get out and vote, and get informed.
Rich Glennie was the editor of The Chronicle for 23 years. He retired Aug. 1, 2014.
