SPPS Asking Voters to Approve $37 Million Annually 

Facing a budget deficit of over $50 million per year, the St. Paul Board of Education is asking the voters to approve an additional operating levy in the 2025 election of $1073 per student over the next 10 years. 

They say that the referendum would raise an additional $37 million annually for the district’s general fund, which is what is used to pay teacher salaries and benefits, school utilities and maintenance, classroom equipment, transportation and more.

The district has said without this additional funding, they would be looking at significant cuts to their budget.

“The reality is, we can’t cut our way to better outcomes for our students,” School Board member Carlo Franco said during the Board’s July 15 meeting. “I believe that the power of an additional $37 million plus per year can help us get there, but I know the alternative of that will never help us get there.” 

More than keeping the lights on

SPPS Superintendent Dr. Stacie Stanley said, with or without the referendum passing, St. Paul Public Schools will still be there to serve students, but there is a lot at stake.

“I was at Johnson High School and we have our aeronautics program. I was at Humboldt and we have our welding program. I’ve been to multiple FFA programs where kids are using hydroponics to grow vegetables, the lettuce that is used in their cafeteria,” Stanley said. “These are the incredible things that unfortunately, because we see them as extras, would have to be on the table that our children would lose. And I just don’t want that to happen.”

Stanley, a product of SPPS who officially became Superintendent in May, said she understands the importance of “what some people call extracurriculars,” and that by participating in things like debate and student council, it helped to shape who she is today. 

“All of those things are as important as math and literacy, and I say that as a former math teacher,” she said. “And that is what is at stake right now. It is the arts, it’s orchestra.”

For Megan Hall, a long-time science teacher at Open World Learning Community and a member of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers Contract Action Team, The referendum boils down to ensuring students have what they need in every classroom. 

“From the ground level, [the levy] looks like not cutting teachers and paraprofessionals,” Hall said. “Are we getting adequate federal funding for special education? No. And so some of these teachers are providing the most vital services for our most vulnerable kids.”

Teresa Mozur, an SPPS parent who is organizing the “Yes for SPPS” campaign said her support of the referendum boils down to ensuring her child has the best possible education.

“As a middle class family we don’t have the privilege of being able to afford a private school, so having a public school system that I know my daughter will get the absolute best education possible is really important,” she said. “We made a decision to send her to the school she’s at now to limit the number of disruptions because we knew the school we live by was going to be closing, and the idea that I would have to potentially question quality education on top of all of this is not where any family wants to be.”

Hall, the 2013 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, has two children who are both in SPPS schools and her husband also teaches in the district, said the conversation around the referendum has brought her gratitude toward her fellow teachers and the administration.

“When I look at schools across our country and across the world and I look at what my kids get, the commitment their teachers give them, the fairness that the building administrators use when they lead the schools, I’m so grateful,” she said. 

Not a fix-all

“When you look at the aggregate of [Ramsey] county, $0.23 of every dollar goes to schools,” Stanley said. “That is why so many schools in Ramsey County are going out for referendum right now.”

While the proposed levy would provide relief to the district, it doesn’t solve long-term funding issues with public education in the state – one which will raise the average property tax bill in St. Paul a little more than $300 next year.

St. Paul’s referendum would bring in about $37 million annually, based on enrollment. That number would remain static, however, based on enrollment in the district and not account for wage increases or inflation. 

Stanley said, despite the 2023 legislature tying student funding to inflation capped at 3%, that past legislative decisions have put many school districts in a funding bind. 

“We know that, since 2003, had education funding been tied to inflation, St. Paul Public Schools alone would have an additional $50 million,” Stanley said, noting that the 2025/26 budget deficit was $51.1 million. 

“There’s a big difference between $51.1 million and $1.1 million,” she said.

Mozur agreed, saying a fix at the state legislature is required to ensure all schools are properly funded.

“Students and families of today shouldn’t have to pay for the decisions of decades ago,” she said.

The full questions on the ballot reads as follows:

Approval of New School District Referendum Revenue Authorization The board of Independent School District No. 625 (Saint Paul), Minnesota has proposed to increase the School District’s general education revenue by $1,073 per pupil, subject to an annual increase at the rate of inflation. The proposed new referendum revenue authorization would be first levied in 2025 for taxes payable in 2026 and applicable for ten (10) years unless otherwise revoked or reduced as provided by law. 

Shall the new referendum revenue authorization proposed by the board of Independent School District No. 625 (Saint Paul), Minnesota be approved?

BY VOTING “YES” ON THIS BALLOT QUESTION, YOU ARE VOTING FOR A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.