Osseo Schools ‘Fact Check’ Anti-Levy Flyer

Osseo Area Schools officials are fighting back against an anonymous anti-levy flyer that has been showing up at homes in some part of the district.

The flyer criticizes the district for requesting “$470,000,000” and reads, “As tax payers we must ask ourselves … when is enough, enough?”

The district responded Wednesday by running a photo of the flyer on its Facebook page with a detailed response to seven points it makes.

See the flyer in the post above or click on the image.

The levies

Osseo is asking voters to approve two levies when they head to the polls Nov. 5. The first is an operating levy that would replace the existing levy with a new one that would provide an additional $9 million annually for 10 years. It would add about $7 per month to the tax bill of a typical home, which is worth $192,000 in the district.

A similar request last year failed by just 116 votes when it went before voters.  But the district says the money is needed to continue growth in student achievement and closing the achievement gap, providing high-level courses to more students and efforts to help students graduate on time. It would also reduce the impact of any future cuts.

The district warns that if the levy request fails like it did last year, it would have to cut about $8 million over the next two years. Those cuts would lead to larger class sizee. Classes would have three more students on average across the district, but some could have as many as 40 students. There would also be fewer extracurricular activities and longer walking distances for junior and senior high students.

The existing levy isn’t scheduled to expire until 2017.

The other request is for a technology levy, which will be called a capital projects levy on the ballot. It would bring in $5 million annually for 10 years, adding about $3 per month onto the tax bill of a typical home.

The district argues that it needs the money to keep up with neighboring districts. Officials note that the state average for technology levies is $222 per student compared to the $214 that Osseo is requesting.

The money would be used to improve technology infrastructure and give students more opportunities to use technology for learning. The district promises “a common-sense, phased in approach” for initiatives that put devices into the hands of students on a one-to-one basis.