The Moorhead School District wants more from its taxpayers next year.
The School Board on Monday night passed a preliminary 2005 levy, payable in 2006, that would raise taxes on a $100,000 home an estimated $79.
The Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton School Board also voted Monday to ask voters for more money, raising its preliminary 2005 levy payable in 2006 to $1.17 million, up 23 percent from $948,000 this year.
Superintendent Bernie Lipp was uncertain how much D-G-F taxes might be affected.
Both districts' levies could change before they're set officially in December.
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Moorhead residents now pay $312 and D-G-F residents $223 on a $100,000 home, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.
The state average is $335, although that number is expected to rise sharply.
Moorhead's school taxes would remain relatively attractive even after the proposed tax increase, Superintendent Larry Nybladh said.
"We'll still provide a pretty good bang for the buck," he said.
Under Monday night's action, the Moorhead district would levy $7.76 million next year, $2 million or 35 percent more than this year.
Of the increase, about $735,000 would come from growth in the district, said Assistant Superintendent Mark Weston.
About $210,000 of the $2 million increase would go for seven new buses, and about $340,000 is earmarked for health and safety and $190,000 for building operations
The district also plans to levy $462,000 to collect matching state funds.
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Minnesota legislators this year gave school districts a4 percent funding increase for 2006.
Some of the new money will come from state funding.
But some also will come from local property taxes. State government raised the limit on what districts can collect from their taxpayers.
Moorhead School Board member Bill Tomhave criticized state legislators who claimed state aid rose by 4 percent, when some of the new money actually comes from local taxes.
The state clearly is putting more of the tax load on local districts, Weston said.
A number of western Minnesota school districts already have raised their preliminary levies, according to the Detroit Lakes Tribune.
The increases range from 189 percent in Pelican Rapids and 170 percent in East Grand Forks to 20.9 percent in Hawley and 8.9 percent in Frazee-Vergas.
Keep in mind that those percentages reflect how much the districts' tax levy would rise, not how much their property taxes would increase.
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Readers can reach Forum reporter Jonathan Knutson at (701) 241-5530
