Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Referendum topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Monticello school board votes to place $1,550-per-pupil referendum on November special election ballot
Summary
The Monticello Public School District school board voted unanimously to revoke its existing referendum authorization and ask voters in a November special election to approve a new $1,550-per-pupil referendum to fund general operations for up to 10 years, with annual inflationary increases tied to Minnesota Statutes.
The Monticello Public School District school board voted unanimously Monday to place a proposed $1,550-per-pupil referendum on a special election ballot, beginning with taxes payable in 2026.
The board approved a resolution to revoke the district’s existing referendum authorization and replace it with a new authorization of $1,550 per adjusted pupil unit that would be levied for up to 10 years and increase each year by the inflationary increase calculated under Minnesota Statutes section 126C.17, subdivision 2(b).
The resolution, which the board read aloud during the meeting’s discussion, describes the district’s longstanding budget challenges and the intended uses for the additional revenue. The board’s text says the revenue would be used to “hire and retain high quality teachers and support students,” reduce projected class sizes, maintain and improve student opportunities, and support vocational-technical and college-readiness programs.
Board members read the resolution’s whereas clauses during the meeting, which listed prior failed referendums and the district’s use of grants as short-term remedies. The board recorded the estimated referendum tax rate in the resolution at roughly 0.16269% of referendum market value for taxes payable in 2026, and specified that the ballot question would appear as School District Question 1 on the school district ballot at the special election.
Moved by Jeff Hegley and seconded by Mark Branson, the motion passed by voice vote, 6-0.
The board did not set campaign timelines or further outreach steps during the meeting; the resolution itself and related materials were made available in the meeting packet for the public. The district will follow statutory processes for ballot language and pre-election review.
Provenance: The board began reading the resolution’s whereas statements as part of the agenda item on the referendum at the meeting (transcript passage beginning with the reading of whereas statements) and concluded the item with the motion and voice vote that passed 6-0.
