Voters in Brooklyn Center Reject School District Operating Levy
Voters in the Brooklyn Center Community Schools District rejected a ballot measure increasing the district’s operating levy.
Of the ballots cast, 54 percent of voters rejected the operating levy increase, while 45 percent of voters supported the levy increase.
The district asked voters to increase its operating levy by $300 per student at the ballot box this November.
According to the district, if it had been approved, the tax impact of the levy increase would have been about $15 per month for homeowners with a property value of $286,000. That adds up to about $175 per year.
Students attend class at Brooklyn Center Elementary. Voters in the Brooklyn Center Community Schools District rejected a ballot measure increasing the district’s operating levy.
Brooklyn Center Community Schools Superintendent Carly Baker told CCX News that the operating levy increase was needed to maintain existing teaching programs, as well as other district services like healthcare programs.
“The referendum dollars would help us to maintain a smaller class size,” Baker said in October. “It would also allow us to be able to recruit and retain the highest quality teachers.”
Without the approval of the operating levy, the district would likely face budget cuts, Baker said.
“We would have to engage in some cuts so that could look like different programming,” Baker said. “It could lead to some increased class sizes.”
