Redwood Area School District #2897--Just the Facts—Most Frequently Asked Questions.
The election will be held Tuesday, November 8th, in the High School/Middle School Board room from 8 AM to 8 PM.
The school board is asking district residents to vote on two questions. What are the basics of ballot question #1?
The first ballot question asks to renew tax authority that was overwhelmingly approved by voters six years ago. That tax levy generates $500 per pupil or $757,000 for the school. The six years are up and so the public is being asked to renew or extend it for ten years. If a majority of voters say ―yes‖, the levy will continue and the school will continue to receive the $757,000. If a majority of the voters say ―no‖, the school will lose $757,000 it gets now and will have to cut a minimum of $757,000 this spring. Approval (renewal) of this levy What are the basics of ballot question #2? The second ballot question asks to add $400 per pupil to what the school has to work with for the next ten years. This is necessary to pay our increasing expenses that go with maintaining and improving programs we offer students. Approval of this new levy The increase will be $1.14 per $1,000 of market value of property. For example, a home with market value at $75,000 will pay an extra $86 per year or $7.17 per month. A home with a market value of $100,000 will pay an extra $114 per year or $9.50 per month. (See chart on back side). What is the tax impact on farmers? Farmers only have to pay this property tax on their house/garage and one acre of their building site. Agricultural land is NOT taxed for referendums Will all the money (funding) come from increased local property taxes? No. In question #1, the $500 amount is made up of about $250 per pupil (50%) local levy and $250 per pupil (50%) is state aid. In question #2, the $400 is made up of about $276 per pupil (69%) local levy and $124 per pupil (31%) is state aid. If neither question is approved, we lose the chance to receive the state aid. Why is the school asking for extra money now? 1. 2. 3. 4. Why doesn’t the school just cut costs? It has! The school has already cut costs by over $700,000 over the last two (2) years. The specific cuts the board has made are: 1. Cut $30,000 in school level instructional supply and staff development budgets 2. Cut $90,000 in administration salaries and contracts 3. Cut 5 Teaching positions 4. Cut 12 paraprofessional positions 5. Cut 1 secretary position Why not just cut some of the extra-curricular activities? Extracurricular activities are very important to kids and are more than just sports. They include band, choir, drama, speech, knowledge bowl, athletics and many other ―non-sport‖ activities. If the school board made significant cuts in this area, students will leave for other districts and our revenues will decline even further. The fact is the actual net costs of extracurricular activities make up a small part of the overall budget – less than 2.5%. How will voting ―yes‖ for the referendum affect bussing? It will allow bussing to continue as it does now. If question #2 doesn’t pass, the School Board will give strong consideration to eliminating bussing of students living less than 2 miles from the school buildings. There is no current law that says these students have to be bussed. For more information check out the school website: http://redwood.mntm.org/Talking%20points%202011-2.pdf
renewed now.
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