INCREASED EQUALIZATION Enhanced Opportunities for Students Property Tax Relief + =

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The stability of a republican form of government depends mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it is the duty of the legislature to establish a general and uniform system of public schools. The legislature shall make such provisions by taxation or otherwise as will secure a thorough and efficient system of public schools throughout the state. Minnesota Constitution Article XIII, Section 1 Education Funding IS a State Constitutional Mandate 3

Factors Affection STMA Budgets Actual vs. Inflation State aid - 63% of obligation Equity – “some are not like the others” Equalization – “handicap”

The Basic Formula Has Not Kept Up With Inflation The basic formula provides the majority of the funding that districts receive from the state 5

6 Source: MN2020

The Problem … State funding has not kept pace with increasing costs and annual inflation More than 90% of school districts rely on school levies to maintain basic educational opportunities. ▫ This equates to higher local property taxes Local school levies are not equal ▫ Taxpayers pay more or less for the same school levy dollars depending on where they live 81% of our revenue comes from the state 7

Revenue Rankings

Districts rely on voter-approved school levies School levy revenue is primarily generated by local property taxes The Legislature caps local levies at $1,633 per pupil The cost to the taxpayer “per levy dollar” is based on the individual property wealth of each district, which varies greatly across the state ▫ Significant commercial and industrial development lowers the overall taxpayer cost for a school levy for all property owners in a school district ▫ Our district is a low-property wealth district, which means we pay more than our neighbors in property-rich districts but receive less school levy revenue 9

Opportunity Gap - Annual cost to residential taxpayer for a $1,633 per pupil school levy per $100,000 assessed value: Where do you live? Hopkins$153 St. Louis Park$157 Edina$184 Roseville$227 Minneapolis$253 Annandale$340 Rockford$352 Delano$358 Maple Lake$369 Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted$379 Monticello$387 Buffalo$409 Elk River$411 Big Lake$476 Dassel-Cokato$494 St. Michael-Albertville$ Source: Minnesota Department of Education

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Equalization is for Students and Taxpayers The intent of equalization was to make the cost of a school levy dollar uniform across the state so ALL districts have the same ability to raise school levy revenue for their students It's a "match" of state aid to provide tax relief for citizens in low property wealth districts Calculation of the state aid/local levy split: The equalization factor has not been adjusted since % Levy = District’s referendum market value per student $476,000 (equalizing factor) 12

The Erosion of Equalization St. Michael – Albertville Public Schools 13

What can you do? or call your legislators ▫ Make equalization a priority during the 2013 Legislative Session Receive SEE’s electronic legislative updates and alerts ▫ Sign up online, For more information, go to All public school children must have equal access to a high quality education regardless of where they live in Minnesota! 14