1. LeRoy-Ostrander Public School Public Meetings Operating Levy Information October 20, 2015-6:30 PM- LeRoy at school October 22, 2015-6:30 PM-Ostrander at Community Center October 28, 2015- 6:30 PM – LeRoy at school Jeff Sampson, Superintendent

2. LeRoy-Ostrander Public School is Asking District Voters to Revoke Our Current Operating Levy and Replace With a New Operating Levy The LeRoy-Ostrander School District is running an “excess levy referendum” this fall. If district voters vote to pass this referendum, they will be electing to revoke the current $1,578.63 per pupil levy and replace it with a $1,578.63 per pupil levy. This is NOT a bond referendum. This will NOT increase your taxes – legally it has to state that it will because of the “revoke and replace” language Revoke and Replace language meaning

3. What is an Operating Levy Referendum? It is an election question, voted on by residents to authorize a school district to assess an additional tax levy to generate additional revenues to support the operations and programs of the school district. The authorization for this additional tax revenue must be approved by local voters. Revenue is provided through a combination of local property tax levies and for some districts, state aid. L-O School has had this same levy for the past 8 years, we are looking to renew it for another 10 years.

4. Referendum Trends in Minnesota Districts are relying more heavily each year on operating referendum revenue to fund basic educational programs. The number of Districts that have an operating referendum in place is increasing annually. Close to 90% of Minnesota School Districts receive operating referendum revenue. Underfunding by the state has been the main factor in districts asking for excess levies

5. LeRoy-Ostrander’s Current Status We currently have a healthy general fund balance We are currently operating just into the “black” Our current enrollment projections are steady

6. The Impact on Your Taxes Renewing the levy will not increase your taxes. For an operating levy, there are no referendum taxes on seasonal recreational property and on agricultural land the taxes only apply to the house, garage, and one acre of land. The table to the right illustrates the tax impact for typical residential homesteads, apartments, commercial- industrial properties, and most other classes of property within the School District if the levy is renewed, the referendum market value for Agriculture Land other than the house and one acre and for seasonal recreational property is $0. Estimated Taxes for Referendum Levy Only* Type of Property Estimated Market Value Revoked Authority $1,578.63 Proposed Authority $1,578.63 NET CHANGE $0.00 $100,000-$299$299$0 125,000-3733730 150,000-4484480 175,000-5235230 200,000-5975970 Residential 225,000-6726720 Homesteads, 250,000-7477470 Apartments, 300,000-8968960 and Commercial- 350,000-1,0451,0450 Industrial Property 400,000-1,1951,1950 450,000-1,3441,3440 500,000-1,4931,4930 600,000-1,7921,7920 700,000-2,0912,0910 800,000-2,3892,3890 900,000-2,6882,6880 1,000,000-2,9872,9870 1,250,000-3,7333,7330 1,500,000-4,4804,4800 2,000,000-5,9735,9730

7. Impact on School District’s Budget If the referendum is not passed, we will need to reduce expenditures. This will impact people, programs, and facilities. If the referendum is passed, we will be able to keep current programming in place for the foreseeable future.

8. Voting The election will be held on November 3, 2015 from 7am until 8pm The only polling place will be in LeRoy at the School. For more information on the election check our website at: www.leroy.k12.mn.uswww.leroy.k12.mn.us Absentee ballots can be obtained by calling the Mower County Government center at 507- 437-9535.

9. Ballot

10. Questions Jeff Sampson, Superintendent of Schools 507-324-5743 jsampson@leroy.k12.mn.us www.leroy.k12.mn.us

11. Thank you for coming to tonight’s presentation. Thank you for supporting our students.