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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes <br />September 26, 2023 <br />Page 3 <br />1 <br />2 VI.GENERAL BUSINESS OF COUNCIL. <br />3 <br />A.4 Resolution 23-050 – Supporting the St. Anthony – New Brighton School District 282 <br />5 Referendum for Additional Operating Levy Authority and Renewal of the Curriculum <br />6 and Technology Capital Project Levy. <br />7 <br />8 School Superintendent Renee Corneille stated the St. Anthony New Brighton School District <br />9 (SANB) will ask residents to consider two referendum questions in the November 7, 2023 <br />10 election. These two questions are focused on SANB’s commitment to continue providing <br />11 rigorous and relevant instruction for all students. <br />12 <br />13 St. Anthony New Brighton is proud of our small, caring school environment for both students <br />14 and staff. We are also thankful to our community that has historically supported our schools. In <br />15 2014 the community approved both an operating and capital projects levy. These voter-approved <br />16 levies have allowed our district to navigate consistent under funding from the state. <br />17 <br />18 Ms. Corneille stated each levy question provides different but equally important resources for <br />19 our school district. Below is an explanation of how each question impacts our voters along with <br />20 how the funds support our district’s mission and vision. <br />21 <br />22 Question 1: Operating Levy – This question is seeking additional authority from voters to <br />23 increase funding by $890 per student. If approved, the operating levy will provide $1.7M per <br />24 year (starting 2025) for 10 years. An operating levy will allow our district to support our staff. <br />25 With these funds our district can maintain our small class sizes, as well as allow us to implement <br />26 effective social and emotional curriculum and increase academic programs/pathways for <br />27 students. Schools are human enterprises. The levy revenue will allow SANB to properly <br />28 compensate our staff to ensure retention of our teachers. It will also allow us to recruit and hire <br />29 new staff dedicated to SANB’s mission to ensure academic success for all students. St. Anthony <br />30 – New Brighton Schools is proud to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars and is committed to <br />31 using funds to directly benefit our students and community. If Question 1 is approved, an <br />32 average St. Anthony home valued at $330,000 would see a property tax increase of $32 per <br />33 month. <br />34 <br />35 Question 2: Renew Capital Projects Levy – The Capital Projects levy provides specific funding <br />36 for the tools used in the classroom to support student learning such as books, classroom <br />37 materials, computers, and software which is essential for students to develop 21st century skills. <br />38 Since the Capital Project Levy is a renewal – there will be no increase in taxes for this levy. The <br />39 Capital Projects levy comes from the district’s Tax Net Capacity. Question 2 is seeking a <br />40 renewal at the current rate of 6.198%. <br />41 <br />42 Input from families, students, staff and community members there are four key areas of <br />43 improvement for the school district. <br />44 <br />45 Elevate academic support and programs advancing future-focused learning. <br />46 Increase support for our teachers through professional development and coaching.