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Voters in the Anoka-Hennepin School District renewed a referendum levy Nov. 3 to provide approximately $8 million in general operating funds each year for eight years. Unofficial election results indicate the levy passed with 58.6 percent of the votes, 17,590 to 12,389.

"We are thankful in this hard economic time that the public supports the schools," said School Board Chair Tom Heidemann. "We are going to do the best we can to spend our money wisely and effectively and provide the best education we can for our students."

Superintendent Dennis Carlson was surprised at the wide margin of victory. He had expected a close vote, not only because the area has been hard hit by home foreclosures and unemployment, but also because the district has upset a number of families by recent announcements of school closings and attendance boundary changes for next year.

"This is a very strong show of support in a particularly tough time. We have hard working families who truly value education for the children of these communities. It's a victory for our students," he said.

Carlson explained that the referendum levy is a crucial piece of the district's funding, "especially now when education is getting no funding increase from the state this year or next."

The renewed levy will provide $165 per student, an increase of $33 over the expired levy. After the first year, it will increase each year with inflation at a level set by the state.

The levy dollars will be used to retain teachers and thus maintain current class size at all grade levels as well as specialist teachers for elementary art, music and physical education, plus staffing for career and technical programs for high students. In addition, high school activities will remain in place and fees will remain at current levels. Also, there will be no need to close an additional school next year.

Passage of the levy does not eliminate the district's financial challenges, however. Even with passage of the levy, the district still faces an estimated $18 million budget deficit resulting from lack of a state funding increase to offset inflation and loss of revenue due to declining enrollment.

To close the $18 million budget gap, the School Board approved a plan in September that will close eight schools next year to save approximately $3 million and eliminate excess space resulting from declining enrollment. In addition, the district changed the high school schedule to a model that reduces staffing costs by $1.2 million.

The board hopes to reduce the deficit further by negotiating contracts with staff at less than budgeted. Thus far, the superintendent, central administrators and child nutrition staff have agreed to a salary freeze and the board took a cut in its monthly stipend.

The renewed levy will be on next year's tax statements to help fund the 2010-11 school year.

Click here to view election results (from Anoka County Web site).