The time has come to allow school boards to levy a tax for operating funds without having to take the decision to a vote of the people.

Let the voters continue to decide on bond issues to build new schools.

Ninety-one school districts in Minnesota (including the Caledonia School District) are spending valuable time, energy and resources to convince voters in November to raise their property taxes to operate and build schools.

The city, the county and even the Minnesota Legislature do not have to get voter approval to increase their tax rates.

What once were considered excess local tax levies have become critical funds to operate schools. If these levies fail to pass, there will be blood on the budget-cutting floor.

The question has to be asked. Why canít locally elected school board members decide how much to increase the tax rate for operating funds? They are as qualified as city council and county board members. If they ask for too much money, they can be defeated at the next election.

A school tax levy on property taxes is the only election where the voters can vote no, which many of them are bound to do. Taxpayer watchdog groups say that schools have enough money; they only need to spend it better.

The bottom line is the state is supposed to give school districts enough money to educate each child. For this school year, the State Legislature increased per pupil funding by 3 percent, which seems ample, except much of it went for special education.

The kicker is next school year, when the Legislature has only increased the per pupil revenue by .09 percent.

That and declining enrollment in many schools is forcing school districts to pass these operating levies. Local operating dollars are subsidizing under-funded federal and state mandates, particularly special education.

Local tax levy elections originally were allowed for "extras", but theyíve become essential now that school districts donít get enough money from the state.

Anoka-Hennepin, the stateís largest school district, has a crucial election where defeat could mean cutting $42 million from its budget. Such slashing could close a high school and eliminate 500 teaching positions

Recent surveys disclose that support for this fallís referendums varies from district to district. Last year 42 percent of the votes passed.

State legislatures like to keep a rein on the special levies because they do not want to see property-rich districts have more aid, unless voted by the people. At the same time, the conservative philosophy at the State Capitol has been to push taxing decisions to the local level where the only resource is the property tax.

One answer offered by the Minnesota School Boards Association is to have the state allow part of the voter approved excess levy to be rolled into the per pupil aid formula.

Until the Minnesota Legislature allows school boards to levy property taxes to fund public education, the voters have a major responsibility ñ study the need, the tax impact and vote accordingly. To cast an uninformed vote could result in under-funded educational systems that will hurt thousands of Minnesota students.

ñ An opinion from the ECM Editorial Board. The Caledonia Argus is part of ECM Publishers, Inc.

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