Star Tribune
Minnesota schools ask voters to pay more for technology
Voters in more than 30 Minnesota school districts will decide this fall whether to give schools more money and, in many cases, the ask from districts is a “tech levy” — more taxpayer dollars to fund technology upgrades for teaching and security measures.
“The state does not provide a dedicated funding stream, really, for technology,” said Scott Croonquist, the executive director of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts. “Technology is ubiquitous for schools, and it has become even more important since the pandemic.”
Half of the metro area school districts with referendums this fall — including Minneapolis, Robbinsdale, Shakopee and Burnsville-Eagan-Savage — are seeking renewed or increased funding for technology. Brooklyn Center and Rockford schools are going for 10-year tech levies for the first time.
Others, including Rochester, Farmington, Fridley and Prior-Lake-Savage, have more general operating referendums on the ballot, meant to help cover costs of ongoing, day-to-day expenses.
“The operating referendums in the past were meant to help fill in some gaps and do some extra things,” said Gary Lee, deputy executive director of the Minnesota School Boards Association. “Right now, the operating referendums are being used just to stay flush, just to balance the budget.”
The DFL-controlled Legislature approved a sweeping education bill in 2023 that gave schools more than $2 billion for new spending, but much of it was earmarked for specific programs, including free school meals. Decreasing enrollment, inflation and the recent sunsetting of pandemic relief funds mean that many cash-strapped districts are now facing cuts.
Tech levies can also provide relief for a district’s general fund that may have been used to cover technology costs. The cost to taxpayers depends on the district and home value.
In Minneapolis, voters will decide on a $20 million-a-year levy increase for technology in Minneapolis Public Schools — a move the district says would free up spending on general operations and minimize cuts to other programs and services. The ballot measure would allow the district to replace an $18 million a year capital project levy with a new $38 million a year levy to run for a decade, beginning in 2025. If approved, taxes on a $350,000 house would rise by $8 a month or $96 a year.
Gov. Tim Walz appeared on multiple national media outlets Monday for relaxed interviews with supportive questioners, receiving invitations to play golf with the SmartLess hosts and a Buffalo plaid flannel shirt from the hosts of ABC’s “The View” that read “Dad in plaid” on the back.
Walz gushed and nearly gasped in delight about the shirt, saying it’s “the single greatest thing I’ve ever gotten.” He added, “You know I’m wearing this, right?” Host Ana Navarro encouraged him to return to the show wearing it “when” he and Vice President Kamala Harris win the election.
The governor was in New York City, appearing live on that show and scheduled to later record an episode of “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart to air at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central. The governor’s previously recorded episode of the SmartLess podcast also became publicly available Monday morning. He gave some new peeks behind-the-scenes.
The multiple hosts of both shows were squarely on team Harris-Walz. The SmartLess hosts raved about Walz’s everyman appeal. Co-host Will Arnett told the governor that his “authentic self shines through.”
Co-host Jason Bateman asked what can be the “big give,” an olive branch that the Harris-Walz administration would give to those who didn’t support them. Walz said, “She said it and I agree with her, she needs to appoint a Republican to the cabinet.”
The governor mentioned two conservatives he respects, former Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona “as honest as anything” and Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, whom he called one of the most honorable men he knows. “They are ethical and they care about this country,” Walz said.
Along with co-host Sean Hayes, the SmartLess crew asked about governor’s sleep schedule, fitness habits and his favorite snack on the campaign trail. Walz said he doesn’t need much sleep, tries to run 5K five times a week, hitting 9-minute miles and that his go-to snack is beef jerky much to the annoyance of his pescatarian daughter Hope Walz.
The View crew steered Walz into a discussion of gun control, reproductive rights and the economy, but did so in a non-confrontational manner that allowed the governor to repeat familiar positions and stories.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation is getting $138 million from the federal government to help pay for putting in EZ Pass lanes on I-494 through Edina, Richfield and Bloomington.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced the funding on Monday as part of the latest round of National Infrastructure Project Assistance and Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant programs to improve safety, mobility and economic competitiveness.
A total of $4.2 billion was doled out to 43 other projects across the United States funded with money from the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America agenda.
“With this latest round of awards, dozens of major and much-needed projects, projects that are often difficult to fund through other means, are getting the long-awaited investments they need to move forward,” Buttigieg said.
In Minnesota, the money will be used to offset the $377 million MnDOT is spending to put in high occupancy toll lanes in both directions between Hwy. 100 and I-35W, rebuilding the I-35W/I-494 interchange, and replacing bridges at 12th, Portland and Nicollet avenues.
“The project will significantly reduce fatalities along the I-494 corridor by lowering congestion and conflict points,” the award summary said. “It will improve freight movement to and from the airport by diverting heavy commercial traffic off the main lanes.”
MnDOT began working on the project last year and is expected to finish it in 2026. The EZ Pass project is one of four the agency is working on or planning to carry out between Hwy. 169 and near Cedar Avenue/Hwy. 77.
Officials on Monday released the identity of a man who was shot to death after a fight at a party in north Minneapolis over the weekend.
William Demone Walker, 46, of Denver, was shot in the head about 6:15 a.m. Saturday and died in the 1700 block of 25th Avenue N., according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
One man was arrested at the scene for disorderly conduct, but investigators were looking into whether he played a role in the shooting. No other arrests have been announced.
Police said they believe the shooting happened after a fight at a nearby party spilled into the street.
“Today, tragically, another family has been ripped apart by gun violence,” Police Chief Brian O’Hara said in a statement.
There have been 61 homicides in Minneapolis so far this year, according to a Star Tribune database. That compares to 50 at this time last year.
