Community Forum FAQ

In 2013, the Minnesota Legislature added an additional component to the general education program called location equity. This change was to level the playing field between metro and regional center districts who had referendums and those who did not.  Those school districts who didn’t could access up to $424 per adjusted pupil unit in board-approved revenue. In Fiscal Year 2016, the legislature expanded this authority to all districts retitled it local optional revenue (LOR).  

The local optional revenue allowance of $424 per pupil unit is subtracted from any existing school district operating referendum (which is the case for Eastern Carver County Schools).  No additional funds are provided to Eastern Carver County Schools, but rather it provides more equalization between state aid and local levy. In other words, the local tax levies go down while state aid increases.    

In addition to the $424 local operating revenue in 2013, the 2019 Minnesota Legislature transferred $300 per adjusted pupil unit from Minnesota school district’s operating referendum to the local optional revenue category.  This transfer will take place in fiscal year 2020-21. The terminology location equity and local optional revenue is interchangeable in school finance terms. 

These legislative changes did NOT increase or decrease the amount of funding for the school district. It simply moved funds out of the voter-approved operating referenda to the category of local optional revenue.  The funding is used for operations of the school district and is not a levy set aside for equity purposes. 

Just to reiterate, that $300/pupil information reported at the Board meeting was not related at all to Eastern Carver County Schools equity programming or spending, but to state funding categories.

The general fund is the largest portion of the annual budget at $125,141,925.  The general fund accounts for educational activities, district instructional & support programs, district and school administration, operations & maintenance, transportation and other legal expenditures not accounted for elsewhere.

The proposed authorization will enable the district to continue important security measures we started in 2013 to:

·   Keyless “smart” doors to secure access to schools

·   Security cameras and surveillance software

·   Secured school entrances, including vestibules and visitor check-in and management software.

·   Cyber security for internet access and online safety including access for parents to monitor students’ use of internet

· ·   Securly internet monitoring and reporting and teacher support tool to manage devices in the classroom.

·   Training and assistance with cyber security for students and staff

View more details about the district’s 2020-2030 Technology Plan here. 

Also, as our district grows, so does the tax base. As taxes are spread across a growing tax base, taxes decline for homeowners. School district taxes for the district’s residential taxpayers have actually declined between 14-16% over the last six years, even with the 2013 and 2015 voter approved referendas. See Levy Impact Comparison chart. If voters approve the Nov. 5 referendum requests, the average homeowner ($350,000 home) would see a tax increase of about $36 per month, based on the current tax base. With the projected growth in the community, the tax burden on individual properties will decline. 

Per Minnesota Statute, Community Education (Community Services) is a separate fund and receives its funding separate from the School District. These funds DO NOT come from the District’s general fund budget nor does the school district spend any of its general fund budget on these programs.   By Minnesota Statute, Community Education must be included in our budget and audit reports and submitted to the Minnesota Department of Education on an annual basis.  

Community Education receives nearly 70% of their funding from community members who participate in community education programs and classes.  Certain community education programs receive funding from a combination of state aid and local levy. This includes Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) and School Age Child Care (children with disabilities who attend before and after child care).  Community Education receives about 18% of its funding in state aid with only 11.3% of its funding from local taxes. Community Education programs provide learning opportunities for our community’s youngest learners, adult learners and afterschool programs for all students.

Community Education programs include:

• Preschool
• Early Childhood Family Education
• Youth Enrichment Programs
• School Readiness
• Adult Enrichment
• Child Care

• Is the $14 million just for the purchase of the bus garage building?
• How will this be refurbished?
• Where is the budget for that?
• How will buses be financed? The equipment in the garage?
• When you sell the old garage, where will that money go?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

The buses will likely be financed in a couple of ways, purchasing and leasing. The Board approved the proposal to bring bus operations and transportation in-house. This will begin in the fall of 2021.  The current budget of $5.2 million for our contracted services with Positive Connections will be diverted and used to pay for the bus purchases or leases as well as bus drivers, dispatchers, routers and any other equipment.

The sale of the bus garage will lower the cost of purchasing and refurbishing the new bus garage.  This will provide funds which will be used for additional deferred maintenance projects on some of our older schools.