Jake Omann, Sartell
The upcoming school district levy is a pivotal event for the Sartell-St. Stephen community, one that comes with its fair share of misperceptions and contentious feelings. I think it’s beneficial to fully understand and appreciate not only the numbers involved with this levy, but also the overarching implications and purpose behind it.
First, the numbers – the tax impact for each household is based on the taxable market value of our homes. For farms and agricultural land, it’s based on the taxable market value of the home and garage plus one acre. It’s a proportional tax against the home value, whereby the approximate annual property tax increase for a $200,000 house would be $148.60. For a $400,000 house it would be $297.20 and so on.
I can run through a litany of items of similar cost that many of us spend money on (Netflix, coffee shops, Target runs, and more), but suffice it to say this incremental increase representing an investment in our children’s education should be a priority, especially when taken in this context.
The Sartell-St. Stephen school district has a stellar reputation as we consistently rank in the top 20 districts in the state as reported in several reputable sources such as U.S. News, and these rankings factor in critical components such as graduation rates, test scores, college preparation and student-teacher ratios.
These accolades are especially impressive given we currently rank 317 out of 330 Minnesota school districts for overall school funding per pupil.
There have been some critics who claim this levy is excessive and egregious, but if it should pass we will still be below the state average in terms of voter-approved operating levy revenue per student. One of the related headwinds we face is the fact we are a property-poor district with a limited number of commercial buildings that tend to generate more tax revenue. The result of this is we, as parents and community members, shoulder more of the tax burden to financially support and invest in our schools and children’s education.
There are a lot of variables that go into driving increased commercial development in a community, and these initiatives can take years to come to fruition. Most parents and community members have little control over this, but what we can control is how we choose to intentionally invest in the educational resources we provide for our children, our future leaders.
My perspective on this levy stems from the fact my wife and I recently moved back to this district, having grown up in Sartell and St. Stephen and attended school here. One of the deciding factors in our decision to move back was knowing our kids would get a great education. To me, a high-quality education entails a robust offering of academic programs delivered by high-quality teachers in an effective manner.
If this levy does not pass, the budget reductions will undoubtedly be felt throughout the district, and two of the probable cuts will be in the form of reduced academic programming and increased class sizes. To prepare our children for the careers of tomorrow, we need to continue to invest in technology and innovative educational resources. In addition, a significant amount of empirical evidence shows smaller class sizes lead to better student outcomes as teachers can provide more guidance and hands-on work, especially in younger grades.
Please join me in voting Yes on Nov. 5 to invest in our children and our community so we ensure the Sartell-St. Stephen area remains a great place to raise a family.
