“Marshmallow!” said digital learning specialist Jon Abrahamson to his Monday morning class, sending his fifth-graders shuffling to their tables, grabbing their Chromebook computers, ready for that day’s lesson in Digital Learning at William Byrne Elementary School.

The Burnsville students put their computers to use as part of the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District’s one-to-one laptop program, a measure that the district is asking voters to fund once again this fall.

Four public school districts in Dakota County are asking voters to approve funding bumps or renewals this election season, as school administrators say they need to balance their budgets amid expiring levies and rising costs in education.

Public school districts in Farmington, Lakeville and Inver Grove Heights are seeking approval for funding day-to-day operating expenses, while Burnsville-Eagan-Savage is seeking to renew a capital projects levy, known commonly in the district as the “tech levy.” This is how District 191 funds technology-related initiatives like student laptops, tech infrastructure and licensing of certain programs, among other items.

Even after a $2.2 billion investment in public schools from the state Legislature in 2023, many districts across the state have had to trim their budgets as they adjust to the end of COVID-era funding and rising operational costs. Older districts are dealing with the additional gut punch of declining enrollment, the student population headcount that is tied to state aid.

Attend any public school district budget presentation, regardless of the location, and the talk is bound to move toward a graph showing state public school funding since 2003 compared to inflation, and the gap between the two lines.

It’s a measure many school finance officials point to when beginning the conversation about asking taxpayers to approve additional funding through local property taxes. The gap of $1,356 per pupil leaves a different shortfall for each school district, but for Inver Grove Heights Community Schools, for example, it translates to about $5 million.

A fall 2024 graph shows state funding for Inver Grove Heights Community Schools since 2003 compared to inflation. (Courtesy of Inver Grove Heights Community Schools)

“We are grateful for that increased funding in the last biennium, but I think what that graph tells us is that we aren’t going to catch up with inflation in one biennium,” said Kirk Schneidawind, executive director of the Minnesota Schools Boards Association. “It was a great step forward, but this effort needs to continue to show a meaningful investment for our public schools.”

Statewide, 54 school districts this fall will ask their local taxpayers to approve an operating levy, capital projects levy or a construction bond, according to figures provided by the MSBA.

Of the 331 public school districts in Minnesota, MSBA figures found that about 73 percent of all districts have a taxpayer-approved operating referendum in some form.

“We used to call it an ‘excess levy.’ Now it has become such an important part of school district budgets,” Schneidawind said. “That in itself speaks to the larger economic pressures that our districts are feeling over the last two decades. (Levies) have become an essential element for our school districts to fund their operations.”

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Asked if is this is a sign of a state funding problem or just healthy local engagement, Catrin Wigfall, an education policy fellow at the conservative-minded think tank Center of the American Experiment, replied that the issue is multi-layered; identifying what has kept pace with inflation is important, because overall state revenue has.

Additionally, she said, it doesn’t help if new state aid comes attached to new state mandates before it hits the schools’ budget sheets.

“If the districts are making the case at the local level that the referendum is needed, being transparent about what budget decisions have gotten them to this point, and showing their community how the money will be spent, and the community approves, I see that as healthy local engagement,” Wigfall said.

Farmington: Another try, different way of asking

In Farmington, the school district is asking taxpayers to replace its existing levy of almost $700 per student with a larger levy of $1,556.15 per student. This levy would last 10 years, and would be tied to inflationary increases, as well. The current 10-year levy is set to expire at the end of 2025.

If approved, property taxes for a Farmington resident would rise about $35.50 per month or $425 a year, based on a home valued at $350,000, according to district estimates.

Last year, the community rejected a similar operating levy question in Farmington by about 53 percent against to 47 percent in favor.

District officials said they received feedback from community members that the question last year may have been a bit convoluted — it involved asking for a lower amount at the beginning of the levy, and increasing that amount as other debt fell off the district’s books. The Farmington Board of Education last year also brought forward that levy question a few months before Election Day. This year, the board made that vote in the spring, giving the district more time to speak with residents.

When the 2023 levy did not pass, the district chose to use $2.7 million of one-time funds to hold off any additional budget cuts. But if this year’s effort fails, the district has estimated needing to make reductions next year of about $4 million from the district’s $96 million budget. Before using those one-time funds last budget season, Farmington schools have had to make budget cuts in each of the previous three years.

Farmington Area Public Schools Superintendent Jason Berg said those reductions would likely include reducing support staff positions, classroom teacher positions, eliminating fifth-grade band and post-secondary learning options at Farmington High School.

Berg said last year the district was able to be a bit creative in developing the operating levy question, but with the current funding source expiring at the end of 2025, that time is running low.

“This year, we are getting backed up against the wall,” Berg said.

Inver Grove Heights: ‘It’s for survival’

That’s similar to the refrain of school officials in Inver Grove Heights.

Last year, Inver Grove Heights schools asked taxpayers two funding questions, but were rebuffed on both, by 53 percent and 54 percent. The first question would have added $410 per student to the operating levy in order to hold off classroom staffing cuts, and offer K-8 world language classes, among other items. The second question last year would have added $110 per student to provide for mental health and school safety support.

This fall, voters will choose whether to increase Inver Grove Heights Schools’ operating levy by $627 per student, tied to inflationary increases, for the next decade. That would bring the district’s levy to $1,337.

This increase would cost taxpayers about $13.75 per month on a $317,250 home, or the average home value in the district.

They are coming back to taxpayers this fall after completing a survey with national research firm Morris Leatherman Co., finding that 75 percent of respondents would support increasing the district’s operating levy. Inver Grove Heights schools currently receive $710 per student, more than $1,000 below the per pupil operating levies of nearby school districts in Rosemount, South St. Paul and West St. Paul. Those districts tally per pupil funding of $1,887, $1,990 and $2,158, respectively.

“It’s for survival,” Inver Grove Heights Schools Superintendent Dave Bernhardson said. “State funding hasn’t kept pace with inflation since 2003. We can’t control that. We can lobby for that, and we can also ask our local residents to help patch that gap with what they said they could afford.”

Inver Grove Heights cut $1.8 million ahead of the 2024-25 school year, and if this levy fails, officials are predicting another shortfall of $2 million.

Bernhardson said those reductions could result in elementary class sizes of more than 30 students, with middle school and high school sections seating more than 40 students.

If the measure passes, the district will be able to keep those teachers on staff, as well as hire an additional school resource officer, and update security cameras in the district, among other safety equipment.

Lakeville North: Growth in enrollment, growth in needs

When Lakeville North High School counselors Bryce Hoffa, Jennie Peitz and Isaac McClosky open up their daily schedules to speak with students, the online forms quickly fill up. The 30-minute blocks are grabbed, one after the other, until the day is full.

So it goes for the counseling team at Lakeville North, whose district added three counselors to each of its two high schools this year.

“We have been steady busy, all day, every day, which is great for us,” Hoffa said. “We are connecting with students and we are fulfilling and supporting their needs in the moment.”

The counselors focus on three main domains: college applications and searches, general social-emotional mental health support, and career and post-secondary planning.

Bringing in more student support positions is a large focus of Lakeville’s levy plans, said Lakeville Area Schools spokesperson Grace Olson.

“It’s not as much about budget reductions for us. It’s more about knowing that we are continuing to grow. We’ve grown so much without adding enough support,” Olson said.

Voters will choose whether to increase the Lakeville district’s general operating levy by $300 per student, tied to inflationary increases, for the next decade. This increase would total about $4 million annually. Lakeville Area Schools receives about $1,671 per student from their current operating levies.

For homeowners of a $465,000 house — the average home value in the district — the new levy would be a tax increase of about $13 per month, according to district estimates.

If approved, Lakeville school officials said they would add nine counselor/social worker positions spread across three middle schools, and also one more counselor to each high school. They would also plan to add a full-time art and music teacher to each elementary school, among other items.

Last year, Lakeville schools asked voters two levy questions — one to fund operations for newly opened Highview Elementary and another to fund an increase of $250 per student for many of the same items listed in this year’s levy effort. The first question passed with almost 56 percent support, but the second measure failed by less than 1 percent, or 142 votes.

The administration of Lakeville Area Schools is also currently in transition. Douglas Van Zyl resigned his superintendent post in August, with Assistant Superintendent Emily McDonald currently serving as acting superintendent. Michael Baumann, who previously served as superintendent of Lakeville schools from 2017 to 2022, will serve as interim superintendent beginning Sept. 30.

Lakeville school board members and McDonald referred referendum questions to Olson.

Burnsville-Eagan-Savage: Renewing digital support

Fifth-grade students in Jon Abrahamson’s Digital Learning class, where the children are learning how to “be a responsible digital leader,” at William Byrne Elementary School in Burnsville on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. As part of District 191’s technology levy, each student receives a Chromebook laptop to use between home and school. The taxpayer-approved tech levy provides about $4.7 million for technology initiatives across the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage district. (Elliot Mann / Special to the Pioneer Press)

Back in the Burnsville classroom, Abrahamson bounced from group to group, lending a hand when needed as his students worked on a project about digital leadership, or making positive choices when online or using technology.

The skills learned in his class will give the students a strong foundation with using technology as they move toward using their laptops in their other classes more and more, he said.

District leaders at Burnsville-Eagan-Savage schools are asking voters to renew the expiring capital projects levy for a 10-year period, beginning in 2026. The levy will provide nearly $4.7 million each year, for an approximate total of about $47 million over the life of the levy. There would be no immediate property tax change, since the levy is a renewal.

Last April, the District 191 school board found that community members strongly supported renewal of the levy, per their own survey results provided by the Morris Leatherman Co. In the survey, 89 percent of respondents supported renewing the “tech levy.”

Superintendent Theresa Battle said the funds will be used to implement cybersecurity measures to protect the district’s data, as online attacks against school districts have been more common in recent years. The levy will also support the district’s use of popular educational programming like Schoology, Seesaw and WeVideo, in addition to continuing the initiative to provide every student with a laptop.

Battle said providing each student with a laptop allows students to access information at their fingertips but also allows instructors to have immediate feedback from how their students are performing. In a growing digital age, online access is becoming a basic utility for teaching and learning.

“It is an opportunity to personalize learning,” Battle said.

Levies vs. bonds

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There are a few different taxpayer-approved funding mechanisms; the following will be on ballots this November:

Operating levies: Used for general, daily operating expenses within a district such as classroom staff, materials or programming changes.

Capital project levies: Used with a more limited scope, including items related to technology, building maintenance, safety and security infrastructure and similar items.

Construction bonds: Used to build or renovate buildings and district-owned spaces.

A common axiom used by many school finance officials to help differentiate between these mechanisms is “levies are for learning, bonds are for building.”

This year’s October skies are a treasure trove for stargazers, and the crown jewel may be a bright comet, possibly even bright enough to be seen with the naked eye!

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas, discovered in January of last year, is passing close by our part of the solar system this month. Since it’s also close to the sun, there’s still a chance that this melting, dirty snowball of ice, rock and gas could break up, but that’s now unlikely. I don’t think that’ll live up to the hype you may have seen about being “the comet of the century.” Still, its forecasts have improved for how bright it could be, although there are no guarantees, especially with newly discovered comets like Tsuchinshan-Atlas. No matter how bright or faint it ends up being, the best show will be in the darker skies of the countryside.

In the first few days of October, look for the comet in the very low southeastern sky, just above the horizon, during the latter stages of early morning twilight. Chances are, though, it’ll be washed out in the brightening sky.

From about Oct. 14 through the rest of the month, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be available in the early evening sky. Around the 14th, start looking for it about an hour after sunset in the very low western sky. Spotting it’ll be challenging because of the lingering twilight. It’ll resemble a “fuzzy star.” If it’s bright enough, you’ll see its tail pointing upward and a little to the left. As October continues, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS begins the evening progressively higher and higher in the southwestern sky, but unfortunately, it will also get fainter and fainter. Look for it as soon as you can after evening twilight ends because it’ll be setting in the west within an hour or so. Again, let’s hope Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas lives up to expectations. I’ll have more on our celestial visitor in upcoming Skywatch columns.

(Mike Lynch)

Great summer constellations are still available in the Western heavens. The first star that pops out in the early evening is Arcturus. You can’t miss it in the lower western sky with its distinct orange-red color. Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation Bootes the Herdsman, which looks much more like a giant kite with Arcturus marking the tail.

Higher up in the western sky, among others, are Lyra the Harp with the bright star Vega, Cygnus the Swan, and Aquila the Eagle. Another summer constellation holdout is Sagittarius the Archer, in the low southwest sky, easily resembling a teapot pouring its heavenly brew on the southwest horizon. If you’re stargazing away from light-polluted skies, you’ll see a ghostly ribbon of light arching across the sky from the teapot up and over the northeast horizon, more or less cutting the sky in half. That’s the Milky Way band, the thickest part of our home galaxy. The center of our Milky Way galaxy is in that direction, just above the teapot.

Over in the eastern skies, autumn constellations are really on the rise, including the grand constellation Pegasus, the winged horse, Andromeda the Princess, home of the famous Andromeda Galaxy, more than 2 million light-years away, with just one light-year spanning nearly 6 trillion miles.

If you stay up late enough, check out the Pleiades star cluster in the eastern sky, resembling a tiny Big Dipper. It’s also called the “Seven Little Sisters,” the daughters of the god Atlas in Greek mythology. Most people can see at least six stars, but seeing seven is possible. Through binoculars or a telescope, you can see many more.

Planets are on their way back to the evening sky. Venus shines brightly. On Oct. 5, Venus will have a visitor. It’s the new crescent moon, just below and to the left of a planet named after the Roman goddess of love. You’ll need a clear view of the southwestern horizon to see this celestial hugging.

Saturn is the ringed wonder of our solar system in the early evening southeastern sky, well above the horizon after twilight. It’s easy to spot since it’s the brightest star-like object in that area of the sky. Saturn is excellent even through a small telescope, but there’s a problem right now. The beautiful ring system is tough to see because, from our view on Earth, we see nearly on edge, and since it’s only about 50 miles in thickness on average, that doesn’t leave much to see.

Late-night stargazers will be rewarded with the rise of Jupiter and Mars. In early October, Jupiter jumps above the eastern horizon around 10 p.m., but by Halloween, it’ll be up and running by 9 p.m. You’ll have absolutely no problem spotting Jupiter. It’s by far the brightest star-like object in that part of the sky. Even with a small telescope, you can easily observe up to four of Jupiter’s brightest moons., which appear as faint stars on either side of the great planet, as they orbit Jupiter in periods of two to seventeen days.

Mars lags behind Jupiter, climbing above the eastern horizon around midnight. It’s nowhere near as bright as Jupiter but has a distinctive orange-red glow, even with the unaided eye. Mars will get brighter and brighter this month as our Earth and Mars draw closer and closer to each other. Next January, Mars will be the closest it’s been to Earth in over two years, and will be super bright in our heavens.

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the author of “Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations,” published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and adventurepublications.net. Mike is available for private star parties. You can contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net.

Starwatch programs

Monday, Sept. 30, 7:15 to 9:15 p.m., Hillcrest School in Bloomington. For more information call Bloomington Community Education at 952-681-6100 or visit bloomington.ce.eleyo.com.

Tuesday, Oct. 1, 7-9 p.m., Prairie Woods Environmental Center in New London-Spicer, Minn., through Willmar, New London-Spicer Community Education. Reservations required at 320 231-8490 or www.cewillmarmn.com.

Wednesday, Oct. 2, 7-9 p.m., at Casey Lake Park in North St. Paul. For more information and reservations, call 651-747-2411 or visit www.northstpaul.org/834/Parks-Recreation

Thursday, Oct. 3, 7-9:30 p.m., in Big Lake, Minn., For location, more information and reservations call 763-262-2523 or visit biglake.ce.eleyo.com.

Friday, Oct. 4, 7-9 p.m., Sauk City, Wis., through Sauk Prairie Schools. For location and reservations call 608-643-8346 or visit cc.saukprairieschools.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=478607&type=d

Saturday, Oct. 5, 7-9 p.m., at the Sportsman Club near Siren, Wis., through Siren Community Ed. For more information and reservations call 715-349-7070 or visit cueclass.com

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What would you give up?

The talking heads constantly ask Ukraine to negotiate a peace with Russia right away. Perhaps we should ask a different question.

If a stronger, bigger enemy attacked the U.S., which states would you abandon to the invader to buy peace? Which states are not worth defending? Which of our fellow citizens should we leave behind for that invader to imprison, torture, or kill?

It is only fair that we should have to answer the same questions that we expect the Ukrainians to answer.

Phyllis Ballata, White Bear Lake

 

Presidential personas vs. strategic issues

With the merciful passing of political party conventions and the presidential debate and, now, a second assassination attempt … American voters are challenged to soberingly sort “political wheat from political chaff.”

Our sovereign nation’s Judeo-Christian underpinnings define its past, its present and, hopefully, its future. The related values and policies are to be constructively and democratically challenged … in the best interests of all concerned.

Some voters are saying, “I can’t bring myself to vote for either one of the presidential candidates.”  The candidates’ contrasting personas and rhetoric distract from voters’ focus upon strategic issues.

Distinct is each voter’s portfolio of values.  Let it prevail that voters will cast their ballots based upon America’s many and distressing, strategic issues.

Gene Delaune, New Brighton

 

Why not Trump?

Two letters in last Sunday’s paper question why I and many people could not be in support of disgraced ex-president Donald Trump. One writer says we should know about “all of his accomplishments.” How about health care? Well he’s been working on it. How about infrastructure? OK, he didn’t do much. Immigration? He took children from their parents and put them in cages. But how about doggies and kitties? Yes. Trump is very pro doggies and kitties.

Another writer wants us to believe that that the Jan. 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol was not that bad. Sir, have you ever heard the quote, “Who are you going to believe? Me? Or your lyin’ eyes?” The writer also implies the Democratic Party is somehow behind the recent Secret Service capture of a suspect on a Trump golf course who it is alleged was there to shoot Mr. Trump.

As to dividing the country, we must all ask ourselves, why has every election judge, lawyer, judge of a district or federal court received death threats when the case is against Mr. Trump? Which brings us to the final point. Disgraced ex-president Trump has been convicted of fraud. He will be defeated in November by 15 million popular votes. The country will forget him faster than the name of the last soccer champion.

Tom Leary, Mendota Heights

 

Can laws require lawbreaking?

In George Will’s column on Sept. 22, he argued against companies who embrace ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) goals. He stated that, “The 1940 Investment Advisers Act required advisers to have one overriding concern: their clients’ financial interests. This fiduciary principle was reaffirmed in the 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which stipulates that those entrusted with investors’ money have a duty to deploy it ‘solely in the interest of’ and ‘for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to’ the investors.”

First, these acts appear to apply only to financial advisors, not for-profit corporations. If these laws were interpreted to mean that for-profit organizations must maximize profit (for shareholders) with no other considerations, we get an illogical result. There are situations where polluters break the law, but they can make more profit by paying the fines and continuing to pollute, rather than stopping their polluting. The 1940 and 1974 laws would require that the polluters continue to break other laws.

Second, the quotes from the above Acts do not specify whether they refer to short-term or long-term profits. The management of tobacco and oil companies have been able to lie to the public about the safety of their products, thus increasing short-term profits before those managers retire, but leaving behind severe consequences for later managers and the public.

Third, the above wording does not define the “benefits” or limit them to only financial benefits. In the same Sept. 22 issue, economist Edward Lotterman refers to “external costs”, or “costs not incurred by the persons causing them. In this case, the costs are collateral damage to the environment from extracting oil and gas, such as a changing climate that will make people’s lives worse.”

In January 2023, Dr. Withold Henisz of The Wharton School, (which former president Trump claims to have attended), published a short article online titled “ESG: It’s Not Ideology, It’s Economics”. It argues “that investors’ fiduciary responsibilities should include the use of ESG factors in their financial analyses, because ESG data could protect investments by avoiding the financial risks associated with climate change, worker disputes, human rights issues in supply chains, and poor corporate governance and resulting litigation.” The article is well worth reading.

Dale R. Lutz, Maplewood

 

Agree and disagree

A letter writer last Sunday decried the political climate in our nation and placed the blame on “Soros” and corrupt politicians. I agree wholeheartedly there are way too many politicians who have sold out. Where I disagree is who exactly has sold out. The letter writer refers to Jan. 6 as an unarmed protest/demonstration? People died!

There is one thing (only) in which I can agree with JD Vance — God wants us to be better.

Carole Mulcahy, South St. Paul

 

Sainted

The Washington County District Court for its thoughtfully devised jury duty system. From the clear mailed communications and online form submission, to the phone-in protocol preventing unnecessary in-person appearances, to the cheerful jurist wranglers, the Washington County District Court demonstrated great respect for jurists’ time and service.

Bonus: Serving on a jury was unexpectedly rewarding. Each member of this particular jury approached the job seriously and made important contributions to the deliberation process, with the jury’s diversity emerging as a major asset in evaluating evidence, interpreting legal terms, and reaching consensus. When the trial was over, the jurists were ushered into a separate court room, where the judge made time to answer all our questions — and we had plenty about the case itself and the often perplexing legal procedures and archaic terminology. About a week later, a handwritten thank-you note arrived from the judge. Handwritten. Classy.

Moral of the story: Dread not the jury summons — at least not in Washington County.

Cindy Spicuzza, Woodbury 

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Today is Sunday, Sept. 29, the 273rd day of 2024. There are 93 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Sept. 29, 1982, Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules laced with deadly cyanide claimed the first of seven victims in the Chicago area; the case, which led to legislation and packaging improvements to deter product tampering, remains unsolved.

Also on this date:

In 1789, Congress officially established a regular army under the U.S. Constitution.

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Today in History: September 28, Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin

Today in History: September 27, Christine Blasey Ford accuses Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault

Today in History: September 26, Kennedy-Nixon face off in TV debate

Today in History: September 25, Bill Cosby sentenced in sexual assault case

Today in History: September 24, Protesting NFL players take a knee

In 1938, British, French, German and Italian leaders concluded the Munich Agreement, which was aimed at appeasing Adolf Hitler by allowing Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland.

In 1954, Willie Mays of the New York Giants made a running, over-the-shoulder catch of a ball hit by Vic Wirtz of the Cleveland Indians in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series; “The Catch” would become one of the most famous plays in baseball history.

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed an act creating the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 1990, the construction of Washington National Cathedral concluded, 83 years to the day after its foundation stone was laid in a ceremony attended by President Theodore Roosevelt.

In 2005, John G. Roberts Jr. was sworn in as the nation’s 17th chief justice after winning Senate confirmation.

In 2017, Tom Price resigned as President Donald Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services amid investigations into his use of costly charter flights for official travel at taxpayer expense.

In 2018, Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, agreed to pay a total of $40 million to settle a government lawsuit alleging that Musk had duped investors with misleading statements about a proposed buyout of the company.

In 2021, a judge in Los Angeles suspended Britney Spears’ father from the conservatorship that had controlled her life and money for 13 years, saying the arrangement reflected a “toxic environment.”

In 2022, rescue crews piloted boats and waded through flooded streets to save thousands of Floridians trapped after Hurricane Ian destroyed homes and businesses and left millions in the dark.

Today’s Birthdays:

Writer-director Robert Benton is 92.
NASA administrator and former Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is 82.
Actor Ian McShane is 82.
Jazz musician Jean-Luc Ponty is 82.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Walesa (lehk vah-WEN’-sah) is 81.
TV journalist and sportscaster Bryant Gumbel is 76.
Olympic gold medal runner Sebastian Coe is 68.
Rock musician Les Claypool is 61.
Actor Zachary Levi is 44.
Actor Chrissy Metz (TV: “This Is Us”) is 44.
Actor Kelly McCreary (TV: “Grey’s Anatomy”) is 43.
Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson is 39.
NBA All-Star Kevin Durant is 36.
Pop singer Halsey is 30.