Commentary; Posted: 10/15/03

Reasons to support levy

Shawn Lawrence Otto
Guest Columnist

Three years ago the Forest Lake School District entered a new era of fiscal responsibility and responsiveness to community members. Since that time, our administration has been running the district with a phenomenally low 5.25 percent overhead, compared to most businesses who run at 25 percent.

Our teachers have been doing an amazing job, kicking in their own money for supplies, and providing some of the best quality education in the metro area at one of the lower salary structures. We have a wise and fiscally prudent school board, who have been doing a terrific job of managing community resources to maximize our bang for the buck.

But unfortunately, our state legislature has been working against us. Forest Lakeís budget has been slashed by the state by nearly a million dollars just this last session.

Itís a case of no good deed going unpunished, because districts like ours are being penalized without any regard to how well they have done managing taxpayer resources.

Then we add to that the explosion in health insurance costs, which the legislature has failed to address, rising by double digits year after year.

When you consider that teacher salaries are the vast majority of our district expenses, and their premiums are skyrocketing, and at the same time a million dollars is being cut, itís no wonder our district needs to turn to us, the residents, once again for an operating levy.

Itís easy for the state to say ìno new taxes,î then just push the costs of education, which are mandated under our state constitution, down onto the local level, and count on us to shoot ourselves.

Letís face it; nobody likes taxes. And it gets tiring to have to vote on a new levy year after year.

But whatís even more tiring is that the community has to marshal resources, spend tens of thousands of dollars and thousands of hours of volunteer time getting the word out, money and time that could be much better spend in other ways if our state legislature had done its job.

Wise community members will be angry at the legislatureís failure to deliver, but they will also not take it out on our kids.

They will remember that our district is one of the very most efficient in the entire state, delivering a high quality education at a low price, and it needs and deserves our support.

Here are some levy facts:

ïThe state assumes local communities will pass operating levies to make up the last part of the school districtís budget.

If one is not passed, the district is forced to operate without a critical piece of its financing pie, and has no choice but to slash core programs.

ïProperty taxes have gone down. You can afford this.

ïIf the levy does not pass, 25 teachers will be lost, driving class sizes up. When you have 32 kids in a class, you canít teach. You spend most of your time on classroom management.

ïCaught in a chokehold, our district will be able to attract less qualified teachers because of a) the large class sizes and b) they canít pay salaries that compete with other metro districts.

ïThe district administration and teachers are doing an amazing job of educating our communityís kids on a dollar-for-dollar basis, with administrative costs running at an amazingly low 5.25 percent of operating expenses. This is not waste, people. Private industry would kill for these kinds of numbers.

So how will a new levy affect you? Well if youíre a parent, itís obvious.

But letís say youíre not a parent. Letís say youíre a retired homeowner.

Why would you want to support a levy? Easy:

ïFirst, the key to a strong community is a strong school system. More than churches or businesses or associations, schools unite a community, because they cross all boundaries.

Strong schools attract strong parents, and strong parents bring money.

You create demand for housing, for businesses, and they appreciate in value.

But if you have weak, underfunded schools, wealthy parents flee, and take their money. Home values decline. Less money is spent in local businesses, which have lower profits. Less money is available to pay for basic community services, because the tax base shrinks. A downward spiral starts.

This happens in communities all over. White Bear Lake was a good recent example. Before they passed their levy, home values were much lower because people avoided the area, and there was more supply than demand. Now, itís reversed. My wife and I own property in White Bear Lake, so we know this story well.

Our taxes went up by a few hundred dollars, sure, but our property value went up by several thousand. It was a no-brainer.

ïSecond, strong schools cut crime. The last thing any of us want to worry about is a bunch of kids drinking down at the lake, running mini meth labs in the woods, driving drunk, setting fires, breaking into our homes, and generally making life unpleasant.

Well folks, thereís a direct correlation between education and low crime, just like there is between higher property values and low crime.

If you want a safe, strong community, you educate and socialize the communityís youth, and you provide after school programs.

Itís a simple, cheap investment that pays off almost immediately.

ïFinally, you do it for your community. If you reap the benefits of living or doing business here, you have a duty to contribute to making it strong. Itís the American way.

You look beyond selfishness and realize that strong communities are made up of wise people who see that making an investment in schools benefits us all.

Writer Shawn Lawrence Otto lives in May Township and ISD 831.

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