Voters in Brooklyn Center defeated its fifth consecutive schools levy request Tuesday.

And Superintendent Keith Lester said he's frustrated.

"We keep working to improve, keep doing things with grants and budget-cutting and creative this and creative that, and we can't get the revenue to sustain," he said. "I don't begrudge taxpayers. Our problem is, every other governmental unit can raise taxes without a vote, so if you're mad about taxes, guess who's going to get it."

The district asked for $262,000 a year over 10 years. Lester said that amount would be augmented by $103,000 a year in state aid. The resulting $365,000 would have allowed the district to lessen or forestall possible cuts next year, and might even allow for the rehiring of a few of the 20 teachers laid off over the past several years.

Brooklyn Center was allowed to hold a school levy referendum on Tuesday, rather than on Election Day in November, because it is in statutory operating debt, which means its budget deficit is more than what is permitted by the state.

The district has gone to the voters five times since 2005, and failed to get its funding requests every time. With the failure of this latest funding request, Lester said, barring some sort of windfall from the Legislature, the district could be forced to trim as much as $600,000 from the 2009-2010 school budget.

MARIA ELENA BACA