Voters Said 'No' to the Stillwater Area School District

The Stillwater Area School District will have to find a way to cut $10 million from the budget.

Voters across the Stillwater Area School District voted all three of the levy/bond questions down.

"Programs will be cut. Fees will increase. Families will feel the burden. By necessity, our schools will be different," said Corey Lunn, the Stillwater Area School District's superintendent. "These will be challenging conversations."

School Board members have said if all three questions failed, the cuts would be deep. Here is a complete list of budget adjustments that have been proposed to up to this point. The will take place from mid-November to January.

The Stillwater Area School Board wil have a special meeting on Friday to discuss the election results.

Stillwater Patch will have more on the vote and what it means to the district in the near future.

The Results

Operating Levy: No: 52.1% (7,030) Yes: 47.9%(6,545)

Capital Projects Levy: No: 59% (7,128) Yes: 47% (6,328)

Bond: No: 51.6% (6,950) Yes: 48.3% (6,504)

The District's Reaction

Here is a press release from Stillwater Area School District's Superintendent Corey Lunn:

"We are very appreciative for all those who made the effort to become informed and took the time to vote.

We brought our request to the community this fall knowing times are tough and many residents are feeling the strain of an unstable economy. Yet, we also knew our schools’ financial needs were real and that it was our duty to bring our students needs to the community for a vote.

I have no doubt our community values education. I recognize that for many voters the decision simply came down to economics. Voters provided us with a clear message – as a school district we must find ways to do more with less, become more efficient and change the way we do business.

The needs we expressed throughout the levy campaign will not go away. We need our parents and community to help us find solutions. Tomorrow morning our staff will come to work ready to deliver a quality education to our students. Their work will continue to be more challenging as our resources decline.

A budget adjustment process will begin immediately. Through this process we will be taking a long and hard look at our existing budget, setting priorities for our future, and engaging staff and community members in critical conversations about our future.

You’ll be invited to work with us as we cut our budget by $10 million, which equates to more than 10 percent of our budget. We need to re-prioritize what we offer to our students, recognizing that we will not be able to continue to provide them with the same learning opportunities we’ve all come to expect. Programs will be cut. Fees will increase. Families will feel the burden. By necessity, our schools will be different. These will be challenging conversations."

Updated from 10:15 p.m. Tuesday

With 21 precints reporting, the voters are saying no to all three questions on the Stillwater Area School District's levy/bond vote.

District 834 posed three questions to voters on Tuesday: an operating levy, a capital projects levy and a bond for improving science labs an improving air quality at six schools.

For taxpayers, approving all three questions on the ballot would mean paying about $130 a year extra on a home with an assessed valued of $150, or about $268 a year extra on a home assessed at $300,000. Click here for a breakdown of the estimated tax impact of the levy based on your home’s value.

Even if voters approve the levy/bond requests, . That will take place from mid-November to January.

Updated from Monday morning's post:

“State funding for schools over the last eight years has lagged behind inflation by over $1,000 per pupil,” “Yet despite the failure of state funding to keep up with inflation, state mandates and global competition continue to increase requirements for student learning. It is because of these facts that the Stillwater School Board is compelled to ask three levy questions on the ballot on Nov. 8.”

Levy 2011 Overview

• Video: Superintendent Corey Lunn gives a 19-minute overview of the 2011 levy.
• Video: Hour-long Episode of Talk of the District about the Levy and Bond Questions.
• The Stillwater Area School District’s 2011 Voter’s Guide to the Levy
• Pioneer Press: Even if Levy Passes, Cuts will be Made
  
• Stillwater Gazette: Turnout Unpredictable for Levy, Bond Election
  
• Star Tribune: Five Washington County School Districts Seek Levy Requests
  
• Oakdale/Lake Elmo Review: Stillwater Area Schools Seek Levy
  
• St. Croix Valley Press: Election Preview
  

Potential Budget Adjustments for 2012-2013

The district will adjust its budget by $5 million if the levy passes or $10 million if the levy fails.

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• View the complete list of budget adjustments
  
• 
  

Question 1 – Operating Levy

The operating levy will ask taxpayers for $1,465 per student—$468 higher than the current levy, which would expire—and would bring in an additional $5 million a year for operating costs.

• 
  
• The Stillwater Area School District Details the Operating Levy
  
• 
  

Question 2 – Capital Projects Levy

The Capital Projects Levy is a request for $980,000 a year to improve technology.

• Video: A 12-minute video about the capital projects levy for technology
• Stillwater Area School District Details the Capital Projects Levy
  

Question 3 – Building Bond

The third question is an $18.1 million bond request to renovate science labs and improve air quality at six schools.

• Video: A 14-minute overview of the building bond request
  
• The Stillwater Area School District Details Science Facility Needs
  
• The Stillwater Area School District Details the Bond Request
  
• 
  

To read about the school board members reactions to the results click here.