On November 6, 2018, Mahtomedi Public Schools is asking our community to revoke and replace its current operating levy.

Why are we going out for a levy?

The State is not meeting its obligation to fund Minnesota schools and this lack of funding impacts the budgeting decisions in our school district. Our district made $1.6 million in budget adjustments for the 2018-19 school year. We are asking for a levy in order to enhance high-quality programming and supports for our students.

• The general education state aid funding formula as determined by the legislature is the primary revenue source for Minnesota school districts. In Mahtomedi, over 70% of our general education revenue comes from the State of Minnesota.
• Over the last 15 years, nominal increases by the state funding formula by the Legislature have not kept up with increases in inflation. If state aid had kept up with the actual costs of educating students we would be receiving $618 more per students than we currently receive. The lack of state funding is an unfortunate budget reality impacting school districts across the state.

If the levy passes, our priorities include:

• Reducing class sizes district-wide;
• Enhancing academic programming;
• Strengthening the safety and security of our buildings; and
• Building financial stability through deficit reduction.

PLEASE NOTE: The Property Tax calculator will give taxpayers the tax impact for the first tier of our tiered levy (FY 2019). Under our tiered levy, tax impact changes happen three times over ten years (2019, 2022, and 2025). Please note that the change in the tax impact will be approximately the same amount in 2019, 2022 and 2025.

Mahtomedi Public Schools is committed to providing our community with factual and transparent information on a timely basis about the operating levy. In the coming months, we will continually update our web page with resources and information.

We encourage you to submit questions related to the levy on the Ask a Question page and you will receive a response. Contact information for district administrators and School Board members is available on the Contact Us page.

Thank you for your support of Mahtomedi Public Schools!

Join us at a community meeting, review the Google Slides presentation, or watch the video of the presentation below.