Kenyon Wanamingo asks for more funding

Editor’s note: Three Goodhue County school districts will hold levy referendums this fall.

Oct. 15: Goodhue

Today: Cannon Falls and Kenyon-Wanamingo

The Kenyon-Wanamingo School District will ask taxpayers to approve additional funding Nov. 8. The proposed levy increase would more than double the existing operating levy.

The district’s currently $126 per pupil levy will expire at the end of this year. Voters are asked to approve a 10-year renewal on that levy in addition to increasing it by $173 per pupil.

The current levy brings in about $136,000 a year. The levy increase would add about $192,000 to that figure.

“The district will see a reduction in federal spending in education. This will have a negative impact on the budget for future years,” Supt. Jeff Evert said in a statement on the school’s website. “(The increase) will help the district weather that storm (and) keep programs at current levels.”

Taxpayers will vote on two questions:

• Should the district renew its current $126 per pupil levy?

• Should the district increase its levy by $173?

If only the first question passes, property taxes will remain the same. If the increase is approved, a taxpayer owning a property valued at $100,000 could expect to pay about $52 more a year or a little more than $4 more a month.

The district has scheduled two public meetings on Nov. 1 to discuss the levies. The first will be at 6 p.m. at Kenyon-Wanamingo Elementary School in Wanamingo; the second will be at 8 p.m. at Kenyon-Wanamingo Middle-High School in Kenyon.

Residents can vote on the levies in a special election Tuesday Nov. 8 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Polling locations will be at the elementary school and at the middle-high school.

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