Edina Schools Could Raise Tax Levy by $920K in 2014

The Edina School Board approved a preliminary 2.36 percent tax levy hike for 2014 during its late September meeting.

The increase comes mainly from changes to how Minnesota funds public schools, the district said.

“Most of the changes to the proposed levy are the result of changes in how the state is calculating student funding and the aid we receive,” the district's director of business services, Margo Bauck, said in a statement. “The Legislature also approved funding for all-day kindergarten starting in 2014, and we will likely need additional classroom space to accommodate expansion of that program.”    

The proposed hike would raise the levy by $920,000, from $39.03 million to $39.96 million. The preliminary 2.36 percent figure can go down, but not up, by December.

In 2013, the district lowered the tax levy by 1.93 percent, about $767,000.

Here are some of the proposed changes to the levy from 2013 to 2014:

• 2013 Legislative changes:

• Pupil weighting changes
• Referendum formula changes 
• New location equity revenue
• Equalization formula changes

• Increase in funding based on additional pupil units (starting in fall 2014)
• Increase in lease levy for additional classrooms to accommodate the all-day, every day kindergarten program (for summer 2014 construction)