Posted on 10/08/2013 4:32:04 AM PDT by TurboZamboni
Minnesota taxpayers no longer have direct control over more than $200 million worth of school levies they approved because of a shift in tax authority designed to give school districts more-reliable revenue sources.
Changes in the latest education funding bill approved by the 2013 Legislature gave school districts the power to convert up to $724 per pupil of existing tax levies from voters' approval to school board members' control.
In districts with no voter-approved property tax, school board members can levy up to $300 per pupil without a vote by residents.
That means more than a quarter of the $831 million worth of voter-approved tax levies statewide are now out of voters' direct control, state Education Department data show. More than $192 million of those tax conversions came from districts in the Twin Cities metro area.
Furthermore, some districts across the state were able to levy an additional $25 million of new board-approved taxes.
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
A leftists wet dream; taxation without representation. Hmmmmm, where have I heard that line before?
Including my City. The S. B. caught hell at the BPOU.....
The school in my area is lobbying hard for us to approve a no tax increase levy (extend the levy passed in 2006). The same thing has occurred every year for about 5 or 6 years running now in one way shape or form. They claim if it is not passed, the school district loses 11.5 million, or the equivalent of 130 teachers (the threat is that class size will increase, which they make sure to directly point out).
In case you’re wondering that is 88.5K in salary and benefits per teacher.
Nice work if you can get it.
Yeah, not bad at all. But they don’t get paid enough is the consistent mantra.
I’ve met several good teachers in the district, they try hard and actually do seem to care as well as teach. I haven’t seen a lot of the socialist gobbledygook either (some, but not like a lot of districts).
I have no idea how hard any given teacher works, I just know that the few I do know seem to put in a lot of effort and returned emails well into the evening. I do think they get paid quite well and don’t have anything to complain about though.
I’d like 3 months off in the summer.
One of the two seasons in Minnesota.
Winter.
Summer road construction.
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