Brainerd board declines to advance operating-levy referendum after hours of public comment and finance briefing

Public comment at a Brainerd Public Schools board meeting focused on one issue: whether the board should allow voters to decide an operating-levy referendum to shore up district finances. Dozens of parents, teachers, former administrators and business owners urged the board to put an operating levy on the November 2025 ballot. School officials presented comparative state data and a district financial briefing showing a multi‑million dollar shortfall, driven in part by the district’s high share of special‑education costs, and urged the board to seek local voter input.

“Letting the community vote on a levy gives everyone a voice,” parent Jessica Gangel said during the public‑comment period, asking the board to “trust the community to make the choice on an operating levy this November.” Other speakers — parents, teachers and business owners from Brainerd, Baxter, Nisswa and surrounding communities — made similar pleas, saying cuts already underway have reduced electives, intervention staff and class supports and asking the board to place the question on the ballot so taxpayers can accept or reject additional local funding.

The board heard a financial presentation from Marcy Lord (finance materials provided to the board and public) and a longer policy and context presentation from Superintendent Peter Grant. Lord compared Brainerd’s revenue and spending to state peers and showed the district receiving less local revenue per pupil than many comparable districts while carrying a higher share of special‑education costs. Grant said the district has covered millions of dollars of special‑education costs from the general fund in recent years and described a projected shortfall the board is discussing as a structural funding issue statewide as well as locally.

Grant told the board that, over four years, the district has used roughly $6 million of general‑fund dollars to cover the gap between special‑education expenses and state/federal reimbursements.…