Public meetings to be held for referendum

A recently discovered error involving the Minneota Public School's Tech Levy that passed in November 2021 and a new referendum is up for election on May 9.
The bond Issue that was up for a vote at the same time and did not pass is not involved in this recent discovery.
A two-question special election is now being put up for a vote on May 9. The questions center around: (1) To authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds not to exceed $2.45 million to be used to fund technology needs. This would generate approximately $250,000 per year to fund technology needs, and (2) To revoke the current $500,000 per year Technology Levy and replace it with a smaller Tech Levy of $250,000 per year which would also be used to fund technology needs.
"We want to do what's right for our voters," said Superintendent Scott Monson. "It's important to be completely transparent with people; so, we are putting this back up for a vote on May 9, allowing property owners two choices. There are 2,661 parcels in the Minneota School District, of which 2,426 are taxable. Of those 2,426 taxable parcels, 195 of them have a classification of agricultural homestead and 673 have a classification of residential homestead property. Also, 1,265 parcels out of the District's parcel total of 2,426 have some type of agricultural classification associated with them, or 52.14 percent.
The error during the November Tech Levy vote had to do with the Ag2 School tax credit, which applies to bonds but does not apply to a levy. The projected property tax impact numbers shared for the original Tech Levy mistakenly included the Ag2 School tax credit.
"The Commissioner of Education has the authority to change a levy into a bond," Monson said. "In that case, the Ag2 School tax credit would apply. We petitioned the commissioner in the fall to try and do that. We knew it was a longshot, and she said 'no'. We understood, but we tried."
The District then looked at other options and decided that the $500,000 approved Tech Levy could be reduced, revoked and replaced.
With two years already elapsed on the original approved Tech Levy, the District is proposing to reduce the current Tech Levy from $500,000 per year to $250,000, revoke the $250,000 per year of the current $500,000 per year Tech Levy, and replace the revoked $250,000 with a general obligation bond that would generate approximately $250,000 per year to be used only for technology needs.
A portion of the Tech Levy is being used to pay salaries and benefits. Bonds can't be used for salaries and benefits. So, a portion of the original Tech Levy money has already been used by the District.
"That's the reason why we are splitting the $500,000 in half with voters given a choice of two options to vote yes or no," Monson explained. "The District will have less money to fund technology needs after the vote, but we can live with it because we want to do what's best for the people."
The situation is complicated, so the District is giving voters several opportunities to have the variables explained to them.
There are two public meetings planned, the first at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 13 in the choir room, and the second at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 3 in the choir room.
Mailings will also go out on April 17 that explain the two questions that will be put to a vote. In addition, each property owner in the district will get a personalized postcard with their specific tax impact.
The school website also offers an explanation, a sample ballot, a tax calculator and more.