Regular readers will remember from earlier posts such as this and that that a group of concerned citizens (MARQS) has been working to encourage the Morris School Board to address their budget issues head on by proposing a long overdue school levy.
Tonight saw a major step in the right direction, with the Board approved sending a $385/student levy to the voters in November, despite the continued obstructionist tactics of Laura Carrington. It was a long and often unfocussed discussion, with a lot of shadowboxing and talking past one another. I think most of the Board members had largely made their mind up in general terms coming in, but people tended to dance around both the specific amount and the justifications for those amounts. That said, both Amy Doll-Wohlers and John Luetmer get kudos for speaking strongly and clearly on the importance of investing in such a key resource. Vance Gullickson, while mostly silent, got an excellent little bit in, and Kurt Gartland (Chair) made some nice points despite his tendency to be a weak (IMHO) on the question of the actual amount.
After discussing the issue for the better part of an hour, Mark McNally asked for a recess, which allowed everyone to engage in some backroom chats and feel each other out. Returning to the table, McNally proposed a predictably (given his comments all along) low figure of $250. There was clearly no support for this and really should have died for lack of a second, but Chair Kurt Gartland did what I’m sure he thought was a “good” thing by giving it a second when no one else would. After a little unenthusiastic discussion it came to a vote and died.
John Luetmer then proposed $385 which, with the current $315 levy, brings our total to $700/student. After a bit of discussion this was approved handily by a 5-2 vote, with Laura Carrington and Mark McNally against and everyone else (John Luetmer, Amy Doll-Wohlers, Vance Gullickson, Kurt Gartland and Brent Fuhrman) in favor. They’ll now have to draft the legal language that will actually appear on the ballot, and it’s up to us to ensure that the vote goes well.
This $385/student amount brings the total back to the levy level that was approved back in 2000 before the state legislature mucked about with things and works well with the new state equalization levels that the legislature just approved. I personally would have liked to see them propose something a little higher (at least $500/student) so we’d have the ability to really invest in a school system that’s been gently starved of resources for several years. And frankly, I think a larger proposal could have won (although perhaps by 4-3 instead of 5-2) if it had been proposed before the $385. The $385 amount (and the discussion of it) was, however, a very Minnesota Nice sort of proposal and I think should win handily in November if we do our work properly. Then in a few years we’ll have an opportunity to return to the levy levels because the current $315 levy will expire and need to be replaced.
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