The Westonka School District wraps around the western shore of Lake Minnetonka, taking in Mound and Spring Park and parts of Minnetrista, Orono, Shorewood and Independence. It's a small district, with only four schools (including Mound Westonka High), 2,300 students and 175 teachers.

Weirdly, Westonka (Independent School District 277) has become a battleground in the campaign against public school spending that is being fueled by "no new tax" crusaders and the anti-government rhetoric of some state leaders.

I have begun to believe some of these folks would cut off their noses to cut their taxes.

Tom Notch doesn't fit that description, but he is the chair of a group that calls itself Wake Up Westonka, which is fielding three candidates (including Notch) to oppose incumbents on the school board in the Nov. 6 election, in which voters will also decide the fate of an $877,000 levy proposal.

Notch, a structural engineer from Minnetrista, says his group isn't telling anyone how to vote on the levy, but he describes it as "a maximum grab," claims it is three times more than the district needs, and says the district is out of touch with the voters, who last year defeated a larger levy and turned down a bonding plan that would have let the district replace its middle school.

"The district has been dishonest with the voters, and we're getting less than we're paying for out here," he says.

The funny thing is that Westonka has achieved notable academic success while imposing the lowest school taxes in Hennepin County, an average of $788 a year on a $400,000 home (the median home value in the district is about $375.000). Officials say that's only 56 percent of the countywide average, and that they are frustrated by what they view as baseless opposition to a modest levy increase that would increase taxes by $107 a year.

"It seems like there is some sort of hidden agenda here," says school board incumbent John Johns, who is seeking a third term and praises district officials for the strides Westonka has made in academic, and financial, performance. He supports the levy. "When you look at the progress we've made here, why would you want to go back? We have so many good things going for us, why do they keep hammering and hammering?"

School Superintendent Kevin Borg brags that Westonka ranks among the top districts in the state in academic testing categories. But critics aim their fire at the district's ACT scores, which lag a bit behind nearby districts, such as Orono. They also say the district's per-pupil spending is higher than comparable districts, which Borg attributes to a higher percentage of special-needs students.

With all the claims and counter claims, both sides say they are frustrated and argue that the other side is distorting the truth. But no matter how you look at this, it seems clear to me that, like a lot of other school districts in similar political fights, Westonka is in a serious financial pinch.

After years of state deficit fights that balanced the budget at the expense of schools, Westonka is $3 million in state aid behind what it would have received. Although the state has scheduled small increases over the next two years, those hikes run behind inflation, and the district, which cut almost $1 million from its budget last year, is looking at another $300,000 deficit next year.

The knife is getting down to bone.

Last year's cuts cost seven teaching positions, eliminated seventh-grade Spanish, staff support jobs and media aides, and resulted in trims to band lessons, Vo-tech opportunities, teacher development and after-school activities.

And class sizes went up: More than 35 in high school, more than 30 in 5th grade.

"Will our academic performance suffer if we go through this for one year? No," says Borg. "But if it's year after year, yes: It will go down."

There go your noses, all of you No New Taxes people.

The bottom line in Westonka: A crucial group of residents is getting overlooked. Probably because they don't vote.

They're just kids.