Hayfield asks voters for increased operating levy

Hayfield Community Schools will be asking voters in November to vote up or down on a proposed increase to its operating levy.
According to Superintendent Gregg Slaathaug the proposed increase to the operating levy would generate $395,000 annually, which represents about 4.3% the district’s annual operating budget.
“The need for this levy is largely driven by the significant financial impact of legislation passed during the 2023 legislative session,” Slaathaug said. “ While many of those initiatives are beneficial for students and staff, they also created substantial ongoing costs for school districts without providing enough funding to fully cover them. Like many districts across Minnesota, we are facing increased expenses related to mandates, special education, transportation, insurance, staffing, and other operational costs.”
Slaathaug said for the first time in many years, the district was required to deficit spend — meaning the district drew down from its fund balance — in order to cover budget expenses.
“While we were able to manage that in the short term, it is not a sustainable practice,” Slaathaug said. “If the levy is not approved, our financial outlook becomes much more challenging, and the district would likely continue operating in the red, requiring difficult decisions in future years.”
The levy increase would move the per student operating levy from $664.12 per student to $1,250 per student.
Slaathaug said when the District passed its levy, they did “not know what the results of the 2023 legislative session would be in St. Paul, and we did not want to ask for more than what we needed.”
“But now with all the information and the unfunded mandates that are coming out of the 2023 legislative session, now we need to come out and ask for a different amount of money,” he said.
Slaathaug said that they feel they have been “responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars,” over the past nine years, saying the district has operated in the black for eight of those years, “while maintaining strong academic, athletic, and extracurricular opportunities for our students. We have worked hard to be fiscally conservative, carefully manage expenditures, and preserve the programs our community values.”
“This levy request is based on what the district needs to maintain financial stability and continue providing a high-quality education for our students—not on expanding programs or unnecessary spending. We remain committed to being transparent, responsible, and accountable with every taxpayer dollar entrusted to us,” Slaathaug said.
Bond levy versus operating levy
Slaathaug said there is a difference between an operating levy, which is used for operating costs, and a bond levy, which is to pay for construction.
The district currently has a bond for the building project which will expire in 2038.
“Hayfield voters approved the district’s current building bond in 2017 and we (started) paying it back in 2018 to fund school facility improvements,” Slaathaug said. “The bond is used only to pay for those capital construction projects and the debt associated with them. By Law Bond levy dollars cannot be used for the district’s day-to-day operating expenses.”
The proposed operating levy is different, Slaathaug said.
“Operating levy revenue goes into the district’s general fund and helps pay for the everyday costs of educating students, including staffing, classroom instruction, utilities, transportation, technology, and other operating expenses,” Slaathaug said. “It provides local funding that helps offset rising costs and state mandates that are not fully funded. We are currently asking to replace our current operating levy authority with a new 10 year levy. We are in year 5 of a current 10 year levy. We will continue to only ask for what we need.”
He added: “The current bond will remain in place until it is paid off according to its repayment schedule, 2038. The proposed operating levy is separate from that bond and addresses the district’s ongoing operational needs rather than building improvements.”