Eden Prairie Public Schools will ask voters next fall to increase its existing operating levy by $700 per pupil, a move that district officials say will stabilize finances and limit the amount of budget reductions for the next five years.
The school board voted Thursday morning to put two questions on the ballot this November. The first asks voters to renew a portion of the existing operating levy of $589 per pupil and to increase that amount by $700. Under that scenario, the owner of a $325,000 home would see an annual net tax impact of $96
Voters will also be asked to approve an additional increase of $150 per pupil for a possible total operating levy of $1,439. If voters approved both questions, the owner of a $325,000 house would see an annual net tax impact of $152.
If that amount is approved, the district will be able to lower class sizes for some elementary grades, and hire additional staff, administrators say.
Bob Noyed, the district's spokesman, said the main reason why the district is asking voters to increase the operating levy is because that amount of revenue has stayed flat for almost a decade while costs have gone up.
"We're probably $300 to $900 less per pupil than our neighbors," he said of surrounding districts' current operating levies.
Last year, Eden Prairie voters defeated the district's request to revoke and raise its operating levy to $1,666 per pupil. A technology levy, however was approved.
