K-M board hears presentation on operating levy, community survey

Saying they want to be ahead of any potential financial situations, the Kasson-Mantorville school board met Monday with consultants to discuss a possible operating levy referendum.
Superintendent Beth Geise said she has been “surprised with how great a job the district has done with its finances.” Still, because of factors like inflation and increasing insurance costs, the district has to at least consider a referendum, she said, and will survey residents in advance of any decision.
A survey, she said, may show what level of taxation the district will accept, or it may say residents will not support a levy.
Business Manager Bob Hasz said the district has been tracking dollars over 20-some years and believes it may start having a spending deficit in the 2027-2028 fiscal year.
“If we don’t have a levy,” he said, “we have to go to hard decisions.” A few years ago, he added, state lawmakers said that future school funding would be tied to inflation, but at the next session said that might not be possible.
Consultant Jeff Seeley of Ehlers Public Finance Advisors explained what an operating levy is, while Sue Peterson of ISG Architects and Engineering Peterson explained the voter survey.
From 2002-2003, Seeley said, the state general education revenues have not kept pace with inflation. If the amount sent to school districts had increased with inflation, he said, it would be $1,420 higher, or $8,901 for Fiscal Year 2025-2026.
The result is an increasing number of school districts asking voters for operating referendums.
For the current year, the allowance increased by $200 per pupil, he said. This is the first-year inflation has been used to calculate the formula. In addition to state funding, other funding, such as special education, has also not kept pace with inflation, he said.
That leaves school districts with only two options: cut budgets or request an operating levy.
For a district like K-M, he said, the tax base is primarily residential.
Among similar districts in the area, only K-M, St. Charles, Pine Island and Dover-Eyota do not currently have operating referendum funds.
Seeley also told the board that seasonal recreational property and agricultural land and buildings are not taxed in an operating referendum. Almost all of the remaining properties—residential, commercial and agricultural properties with a house, garage and one acre of land—pay the same tax per dollar of market value.
Most operating levy referendums, he said, are for 10 years. If K-M had a referendum this November, he said, it would be for taxes payable starting in 2027. The first year the district would see additional revenue would be fiscal 2027-2028.
Peterson then explained how community surveys could help the board make a decision.
The survey, she said, is a means to help residents learn about the needs of the district, explain the operating levy and allow everyone a voice in the process.
Giese said she has gone through the process four times in her previous districts and “the survey tends to be extremely accurate.”
The survey is important, Peterson said, because it tells the district’s story.
Peterson said if the board decides on doing a community survey, she will prepare a first draft for board review and comment.
No decision will be made until there is further discussion with the board and finance committee.
A community survey would likely be done in April, with responses open for 18 days. Survey results would be reviewed at the May board meeting. The deadline to call for an election in November 2026 is Aug. 11, 2026. Peterson recommended making the decision at the July meeting.
The information campaign, she said, would begin Aug. 15 with absentee voting starting Sept. 18. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026.