09-22-14 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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D YES SCHOOL DISTRICT BALLOT QUESTION 1 APPROVAL OF SCHOOL BUILDING BONDS Shall the board of Independent School District No. 12 (Centennial), Minnesota be authorized to issue general obligation school building bonds in an amount not to exceed NO $49,935,000 for acquisition and betterment of school facilities? BY VOTING "YES" ON THIS BALLOT QUESTION, YOU ARE VOTING FOR A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE SCHOOL DISTRICT BALLOT QUESTION 2 REVOKING EXISTING REFERENDUM REVENUE AUTHORIZATION; APPROVING NEW AUTHORIZATION The board of Independent School District No. 12 (Centennial), Minnesota has proposed to revoke the existing referendum revenue authorization of $465.48 per pupil that is scheduled to expire after taxes payable in 2015 and to replace that authorization with a new authorization of $770.48 per pupil. The proposed referendum revenue authorization would be applicable for ten (10) years unless otherwise revoked or reduced as provided by law. E YES Shall the existing referendum revenue authorization be revoked and the ❑ NO increase in the revenue proposed by the board of Independent School District No. 12 (Centennial), Minnesota be approved? BY VOTING "YES" ON THIS BALLOT QUESTION, YOU ARE VOTING FOR A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE The ballot language says this is a tax increase, how will this be a tax decrease? Over the next few years the debt the district incurred to build Blue Heron and the Middle School will be retired. Since the debt obligations are going away the dollars are available to be used for other needs in the district without requiring a tax increase. The plan asks voters for permission to use these dollars, that have been used for debt payment in the past, for instructional needs that have been identified through community input, and to make the facility improvements that are needed because the buildings are aging and need maintenance. The plan will not use all the dollars that would be available because we wanted to also insure that even if both the operating question and the capital question are successful taxpayers would still realize a tax decrease. How were the capital needs identified? Over the past eighteen months the district went through a complete review of every building in the district. People with knowledge of mechanical and electrical systems, site planning, building structures, and all parts of our facilities identified the areas where our buildings need attention. Our teaching staff reviewed the instructional delivery needs that will prepare us teach students into the future. All of these issues were compiled and prioritized and the plan addresses the necessary parts of this review.