Osseo Area Schools To Put 2 Funding Requests On November Ballots

MAPLE GROVE, MN — Voters who live in the Osseo Area Schools district will see two school-funding requests on their ballots for the Nov. 8 general election.

The Osseo Area Schools board unanimously approved two ballot questions seeking increases for the district’s operating and capital-project levies.

John Morstad, executive director of finance and operations, said March 22 that the district's current operating and capital-project levies are due to expire in 2024. Osseo Area Schools would lose out on about $43 million a year if voters do not approve new levies, Morstad said.

Officials are asking residents of the district to revoke the current operating levy and replace it with an increased levy that would provide $8 million more each year for individualized learning, students’ mental health needs and “other critical classroom supports.”

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Approval of the first ballot question would increase the per-pupil revenue authorization from about $1,650 to $2,010, officials said. That amount would increase annually to adjust for inflation.

The second question on ballots will ask voters in the district — which includes Maple Grove, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Osseo, Plymouth, Corcoran, Dayton and Rogers — to approve an increase in the district’s capital-project levy to upgrade classroom learning technology and infrastructure.

That increased levy would also help the district increase school security systems and create spaces for digital learning throughout its schools, officials said.

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If approved in November, the new levy for technology would generate about $11.1 million annually for the district, according to the proposed ballot question.

Officials said a homeowner whose property is worth $250,000 — the average value of a home in the district — would see a tax increase of less than $9 per month.

“These investments are very intentional,” board chair Kelsey Dawson Walton said in a statement. “They will position us to plan for the bold future that we all want for our district.”

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The two funding requests on the Nov. 8 ballots make up the first phase of the district’s “Building a Better Future” plan, officials said. The second phase of the plan will focus on facility upgrades.

Proposed Ballot Question 1 - Revoking Existing Referendum Revenue Authorization; Approving New Authorization

The board of Independent School District No. 279 (Osseo Area Schools), Minnesota has proposed to revoke the School District’s existing referendum revenue authorization of $1,650.53 per pupil, scheduled to expire after taxes payable in 2023, and replace the authorization with a new authorization of $2,010.00 per pupil, subject to an annual increase at the rate of inflation. The proposed referendum revenue authorization would be first levied in 2022 for taxes payable in 2023 and applicable for ten (10) years unless otherwise revoked or reduced as provided by law.

Shall the revocation of the existing referendum authorization and the new authorization proposed by the board of Independent School District No. 279 (Osseo Area Schools), Minnesota be approved?

BY VOTING “YES” ON THIS BALLOT QUESTION, YOU ARE VOTING FOR A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE

Proposed Ballot Question 2 - Revoking Existing Technology Capital Project Levy Authorization; Approving New Authorization

The board of Independent School District No. 279 (Osseo Area Schools), Minnesota has proposed to revoke the School District’s existing capital project levy authorization in the amount of 3.701% times the net tax capacity of the School District, scheduled to expire after taxes payable in 2023, and to replace that authorization with a new capital project levy authorization in the amount of 4.701% times the net tax capacity of the School District to provide funds for the acquisition and installation of improved instructional technology, safety and security technology, systems for the technology infrastructure, and technology support staffing. The proposed capital project levy authorization will raise approximately $11,100,000 for taxes first levied in 2022, payable in 2023, and would be authorized for ten (10) years. The estimated total of the projects to be funded over that time period is approximately $111,000,000.

Shall the revocation of the existing capital project levy authorization and the new authorization to fund technology proposed by the board of Independent School District No. 279 (Osseo Area Schools), Minnesota be approved?

BY VOTING “YES” ON THIS BALLOT QUESTION, YOU ARE VOTING FOR A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE

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