District 622 Levy Renewal Advocates Say Voter Apathy Poses A Threat

The biggest challenge for supporters of District 622’s levy renewal, on ballots in November, might not be convincing people to vote yes, but convincing them to vote at all.

Neither Oakdale nor North St. Paul have city elections this fall, so the levy renewal alone will have to motivate residents to get to the polls, former school board member and current bus driver Gordy Fritsche said at a public hearing on the levy renewal request Monday night at .

“I’m deeply concerned about people showing up at the polls,” he said. “If you believe in this levy and you believe in your kids, if you believe in your property values, your community … I really urge you to go to the polls.”

North St. Paul resident Max B. Joiner echoed those concerns, saying he thinks there are a lot of residents who know little or nothing about the levy renewal.

The operating levy—which amounts to about $10 million per year, or about 9 percent of the district’s budget—was instituted in 2003, said Superintendent Patty Phillips, and must be renewed every 10 years.

Because the levy is currently in place, it wouldn’t increase property taxes, however, if it were to fail this fall and next fall, taxpayers could see a property tax reduction in 2013, Phillips said. For next year, the cost of the levy amounts to about $150 per $100,000 in home value.

Although a few attendees asked questions about the district’s finances and spending at the hearing, no one spoke against the levy renewal.

Realtor Larry Eberhard said investing in schools is key to keeping up property values. He said most families looking for a home will ask about the quality of a school district, and a failure to renew the levy could create a perception that the district isn’t investing in its schools, pushing families to other areas.

“Right now there’s excessive supply and smaller demand (in the real-estate market) and when it comes right down to it, we can’t afford to give up any more demand,” he said. “If we’re talking about $300 times 10 years, so $3,000, I’ll tell you that those dollars can evaporate in a real-estate negotiation in less than a nanosecond.”

District 622’s operating levy of $833 per pupil puts it lower than those of most comparable school districts in the metro area. For example, the Stillwater Public Schools levy $996 per pupil, the White Bear Lake Area School District levies $1,502 and the Roseville Area School District levies $1,575.

“If this is not successful in our school district and other districts have already twice as much, that is a disparity that cannot happen,” said Cathy Miller, a chair of the Citizens for 622 advocacy group, in an interview. “It shouldn’t make a difference where our students live to receive a good quality education.”

Oakdale City Council member Paul Reinke, who is also a chair for Citizens for 622, said the mayors of Maplewood, Oakdale and North St. Paul have all endorsed the levy renewal, as have the Oakdale Business and Professional Association and the district’s state legislators.

The group hasn’t seen a lot of resistance to levy renewal, Reinke said, especially after people learn that it won’t increase their taxes.

The group’s third chair, Judy Smith, said while the dollar figures are important, she hopes voters don’t lose sight of who the levy renewal is really about—the students.

“It’s their future, our future, that is going to be devastated if this doesn’t happen,” she said. “Someone paid for me, I’m going to pay for someone else.”

For more information on the levy renewal go to the Citizens for 622 website or the District 622 website.