[Music] Hello, Lakeville Area Schools community. Uh my name is Matt Swanson. I'm part of the Lakeville area school board. With me today is Director Carly Anderson. Also on the school board with me. Uh we wanted to sit down today and answer some questions and provide uh the public a little bit more information about the upcoming levy renewal vote that's going to be on the ballot this November. uh and then answer some questions, provide a little bit more detail to the public about, you know, where does this money, what has the money been used for in the past? Um what is the money going to be used for moving forward? Uh I'll have you get us kicked off if that's okay. Uh what is a capital projects levy renewal? >> Yes, there's are well there are three very important uh parts of this levy uh to know about. One, it is a renewal as you noted, which means there's no tax increase to our community. So this is something that has been approved in the past and so wouldn't disrupt any taxes for our residents. Um the second part is it's a levy um which means that we are asking our community to provide funding for uh various things for our schools. So the state provides us a certain amount of money and sometimes we go out for a levy and ask for some additional support. Um the third part of that is the capital projects which means they are being used for technology uh related resources. Um so that may include um specific um devices that includes um things like um uh things that teachers would be using in the classroom to support technology. It also includes uh various positions to support technology in our schools. So it holds a variety of things that makes it uh specific funding for those uh resources for our students. >> And if people don't know, this is a renewal from a 2015 levy. Correct. Exactly. >> Right. One of the things that I was surprised of coming on the board is uh the limited amount of funds that we actually receive from the state, you know, which actually requires us to go out for levies to pay for additional things. >> Um I mean this year we're looking at a 2.7% increase >> uh from the state on our per pupil funding, which uh if anyone knows like barely keeps up with inflation nowadays. So >> uh again, I think that goes to the importance of these levies. um what we can use them for uh the necessity of them for our district to continue to operate. Um for those who might be interested in getting into the weeds a little bit more on the specifics of this levy or the renewal, uh just want to chat about things that they've been used for for the past 10 years because we have a lot of new residents in the district. They may not have been here in 2015 when this was first voted on. And again, we're just asking them, hey, we want to maintain that current funding moving forward. Uh so one of the questions if we could just chat for a little bit what the funds have been used for and what they will be used for moving forward. >> Yeah and I mentioned technology. It is much broader than that. Um you know a lot of people when they think about technology they think about devices for kids. So the iPads and not all parents are in favor of that kind of thing even though it really is critical for us to have um students who are digital citizens and ready for their future and what uh ever path that may be. Um, but you know, it's it's important to know that if you go into uh your child's classroom for conferences, for instance, they have all sorts of technology that they're using to educate our students. Um, this is also something that is used for security in our schools. So, it's it's part technology to make sure that we're um educating our kids consistent with, you know, um the the world, the future we live in. um as well as protecting our students uh well-being while they're in school, their physical well-being. >> Yeah. The board was given information about this at various board meetings and I don't expect >> all of the people in the in the district to listen to every board meeting because they get kind of long sometimes. Exactly. >> Um my apologies everyone. >> Mine too. Uh but yeah, they explained I mean over the past you know 10 years they've gone from a situation where we had random pieces of equipment in each class to now where there's a consistent package that's provided in each class. Um obviously you need to have some sort of infrastructure to run all of that. So that was contributed by this capital levy project. >> Um again teachertoteer class to class you can have consistency as far as what equipment they have to use in case you need to change spaces. Um and then obviously there is the iPads. I I did want to say one thing about the iPads because we made a comment um about taking away the iPads just in justest at one meeting and then the next meeting we had a couple teachers >> um from from Cherry View uh one of which was uh one of my daughter's old teachers or former teachers >> uh who came in to explain the importance of the iPads. Not that it's the only thing they use in the classroom but it is a tool. I mean, with a diverse district that we have, I think we have over 70 different languages that are spoken in our district by our students. Um, one of the things they said was they they use the iPad as a translation tool with in the classroom, which is incredible. So, yes, uh, the iPads definitely are a cost that goes towards that. Um, for those that wanted a little bit more detail and get down into the weeds a little bit, uh, you know, the roughly $4 million, what the expenditures have gone gone to and what they will go to, uh, the breakdown is approximately 78% um, goes goes towards the technology that we're using in our schools. Um, not only the iPads that we get that our children get to use, um, but all the also the systems in each of the classrooms. And then you also need the infrastructure in order to run those. There's also the security packages that um go on those computers and on those iPads in order to protect our students information. Apparently our world is is sad and people like to hackers like to target schools. Um and so yeah, we obviously need to spend the money to protect that. So the funds go to that. Uh 17% go to STEM, science, technology, engineering, and math. >> Uh the equipment that they use in those classes. Uh we have some laser etching equipment in the high school level. also some 3D printers which we learned about at an earlier board meeting this year. Um a room full of those and then there's also additional equipment that are used on career pathways. It's also you know career focused courses at both high schools which includes architecture, engineering, food service, forensics which I didn't realize we even had. >> Uh graphic design, manufacturing, music production, robotics and many more programs. Uh so again those programs are directly benefiting from these funds. they will continue to benefit from the funds with a levy renewal. And then the final component um maybe not as exciting as the 5% which is for security. So we're looking at cameras uh and equipment related to the security side of things for those that are interested in getting into the nitty-gritty >> servers and all that kind of fun stuff. >> Yes. Very exciting. But it is really important to make sure, you know, we're we're putting these devices in our kids' hands and we want to make sure that everything behind the scenes is making sure that they're safe and um that our schools are safe. >> Yeah. >> One thing um I wanted to point out that I think is important for our community to know and something I didn't really realize until um I was on the school board is we are the only entity that has to go to the community for a vote to raise um taxes. And so, you know, the city and county, they can make changes um to meet the needs of their budget. And we really have to go to our community every time we need additional funds. And so, >> yeah. And it's interesting to that point. So, people look at the every year if there's a levy or something every year on the ballot or every other year, >> they think, oh, the school is just coming back and asking for money. It's because we're the only entity that does have to ask for money. >> Exactly. >> Um Yeah. I I think you don't think about it every year when the the city raises your taxes or the county raises your taxes. Um, but as we discussed before, you know, we have a limited pool of resources as a school district. Um, and if we are not able to go and get additional funds, that just means reducing what we can offer to our students. So, >> exactly. All right. >> What do we have next? >> Yeah, let's find the next question here. >> Well, why don't you just ask for everything you need all at once? I I just want to say um something I learned um across my period of time on the school board thus far is that our district has been really really thoughtful about how we ask for money from our community. Not only are we trying to be thoughtful about the use of taxpayer dollars and um be conservative in our approach, but also thinking about when various bonds and levies are expiring. So um trying to keep an an even tax base for our uh community. And so what people aren't necessarily aware of is that there are bonds that expire that reduce that. Um and so that's opportunity for us to uh look at new ways to support our schools um to really make sure that we are a community that is going to draw in uh people and new residents. Um and so that's just one thing that you know we're not going to ask for more than what we need. We want to make sure that um people aren't um basically, you know, inflation is a thing uh nowadays. Um it always has been, but it's certainly something that when I've spoken to voters that they're thinking about how much money are they going to be putting toward taxes and so we want to be thoughtful about that in a way that is never asking for more than what we need. >> Yeah, that's great. And I just want to reiterate, I know you said it earlier and I don't know that we can say it enough. I mean, this isn't asking for a tax increase. We just want to renew. We want to maintain the current funding >> um that we have and so we can continue, you know, supporting, you know, those different aspects of the budget. Um and again, I mean, we see it in other districts. I look at other districts. I'm assuming you look at other districts >> and we're seeing, you know, other districts around the state that are, you know, getting into statutory operating debt where they're cutting programs, cutting staff. um they're asking they actually are asking for more money um where this is really a levy renewal. We're maintaining the funding that we have. Uh we're not pushing for more. Uh we understand that, you know, finances are difficult for people. >> Uh and so we want to make sure when we do go and ask for some more money from residents, uh that we support it. Um and again, this is a renewal. We're not seeking additional funds for the school. We're just asking to maintain our current budget. So Matt, I'm going to ask you this next question. If voters approve the levy renewal, what would the money be used for moving forward and why are these items needed? >> Yes. So as a general matter, uh whenever we do a levy, the funds would still be restricted to those certain categories or classes of expenses. So it's not like, hey, we get $4 million a year to do whatever we want with, you know, so they would still go towards those expenses. Um obviously iPads get old. Um equipment in the classrooms get old. So yeah, there's obviously maintenance that needs to be done on the equipment that we have. Um updating technology as it's required. Um yeah, so again, the funds would continue to support those same things that they're already allocated to STEM as as those opportunities grow, you know, funds would be allocated there. So yes, it's it's essentially to maintain what we have and renew it as needed moving forward. >> And the staff positions, I think there's five and a half staff positions related to this um renewal. And so those are staff who are involved in all of such things related to u maintaining our technology and security. >> What would the district have to do if the capital projects levy isn't renewed if it >> Yeah, this is a tough thing for us to consider and I know uh one of the very toughest things I have had to go through as a board member is budget cuts. Um well that is the toughest thing I've had to go through. Um and so if we um were to lose these funds, we would have to cut $4 million from our budget for the 2627 uh school year. And so um because a lot of these things are in the schools, it's not really stuff you can take out. So we would have to red make reductions elsewhere um to account for these loss funds. >> Yeah. And the general public might not understand that we have different buckets of funds that we use. So, you know, with these levy funds, they're in a restricted bucket, right? But if that bucket goes away, >> then we're taking the funds out of the the general fund. Yeah. >> And so those funds that would be used for other other items, whether it's staffing or programs or resources for the students, like you said, it's not like we just stop using the equipment and like we wouldn't need the security anymore. um you know those expenses maybe not to the full extent of the $4 million a year but those expenses would continue to be incurred at least to some extent. >> Yeah. Basically we can't we can't take all of the technology out of the schools with where we are in the world today and if we have the all the equipment and um all the programs we can't cut the security behind the scenes or we get in trouble that way and so we have to keep it going. So then we yeah unfortunately would have to make cuts elsewhere >> which no one wants to do. >> Yeah. I think it's really hard to think about making this kind of budget cut um because we can't change the technology in our schools and um without going backwards in time. We really can't do that. And if we um have to maintain the technology, we also need to maintain the security for all of all of the um programs and devices and um things we use for instructional purposes. So, if we had to make such a budget cut, um un the unfortunate reality is we're going to have to cut programs and we're going to have to cut staff and very likely the first classes or programs to go are going to be related to elective courses. Um and so those are things that are going to impact our students education unfortunately. >> Yeah. I mean students and staff. >> So yeah, and and $4 million isn't insignificant when you're looking at the budget. Um >> yeah, I mean you guys cut 7 million. >> Seven was extremely painful. four will be extremely painful and no one wants to do that. We want to >> I think one of the greatest things about Lake Verary Schools is all the opportunities that our kids have um including those elective options. We want to maintain that opportunity for students. Like you're saying, we want to continue to support our staff in those positions as well. >> Absolutely. >> So, how do the items funded by this levy benefit our students and our community? I mean, they've already benefited. Um, and again, we're we're asking that we be allowed to maintain those resources for our students. Um, and then not trim off any additional resources by by losing that or maintaining that funding. I mean, iPads are are our device. We have a one-toone device right now. So, each student has an iPad or a device they can access. Uh, you could move to like a well people share, but then you have security issues. if you have multiple students sharing um then you get into situations where what about snow days um and learning from home days. So yeah, I mean again I think with the way the world is advancing, you know, having our students learn how to use use devices as a resource for learning um is is clearly a benefit to them. I mean they're going to be jumping into a world where they're using it every day. I mean we use it every day. again using those resources um having our staff use those resources because the levy covers the staff's devices as well. Um staff are able to input information which traverses up to the the district level and the principal level and then we can analyze that um even as a board we get access to some of that information and just helps operate the district. So, uh, yeah, I I mean there are many resources and not even I mean more specifically STEM um it's just a growing area and having the funds to fund those I mean 3D printers weren't even a thing 10 years ago I don't think or if they were they would have been massive >> very popular >> but now we've got you know quite a few of them and kids being able to just exercise their creativity using that in a different way and just having having the resources to allow us to be able to take advantage of those things um as we move forward just as another resource for students and learning and for our teachers. So, >> it's been really great with our schoolboard meetings too to see some of our students come present some of the work that they've done and also at the home and garden expo see um the young entrepreneurs showing their work. A lot of that has been 3D printing type things or um you know various uses of technology when you think about kind of media arts and all of that. So, it's it's um I think a requirement for instructional purposes and also just yes launches like you said the creativity uh for our students and gets them to that next level which will help prepare them for their next step after high school. >> What makes you proud of Lakeville Area Schools? That's a big question. Yeah. >> So many things. Um you know, I think it it starts with all the people in our buildings for me. Um so when we think about all the staff from um the janitorial staff keeping our schools clean um the teachers and who are doing amazing things in our classrooms every day and this technology like we've talked about is very important for that you know to our administrative staff and our kids. Um our kids are just bringing joy and energy and life to these buildings every day. Um one thing just as a parent in the district I'm so grateful for is all the opportunities our kids have. um that that crosses into, you know, goes out of the buildings into all the um extracurriculars, but also the things that my kids are learning in in their schools every day with amazing teachers and amazing friends. Um so it's just a place where I feel like the opportunities are endless for our children. >> To that point, did you have any idea before you were a board member like how big of an operation the school district was? >> No, it's pretty incredible. I mean, not just a budget, but all the number of of programs. I mean, we've spent >> what the last six months with different um >> different groups within the school district uh departments coming in and doing presentations about all the different you know opportunities that are provided to students and resources that are provided to students. Um which I I don't think I mean I didn't know about you know before I joined the school board. Uh and it's it's incredible. I mean it's it's a very large organization you know serving 12,000 plus students um every year I mean every day I mean we opportunities throughout the summertime too and uh yeah they they do it really well and it's uh it's impressive to watch so >> yeah some of the things that have come before us in the last year like kids have built a motorcycle with a teacher um you know just really amazing things that they're doing And yeah, I I think our focus is on every student and how to help them succeed in their own way. And um I think that's the focus of our our school board and how we want to move forward and kids are succeeding every day. >> Yeah. And tying it back into the the library renewal. Um, it's even more impressive when we're doing it in a a a resources a limited resource environment, you know, where again, I mean, we have a 2.7 increase on our per pupil funding this year from the state, which is which is more than we get some years. Um, but 2.7% for all the expenses we have, no, it's not very much. And so, it's hard to keep up. I mean, inflation is higher than that almost every year. And it's just a a slow like trickle almost, you know, and it it burns every year. We're doing more with less, more with less. >> Exactly. >> Uh and so it just Yeah. So to go back to the public and say, look, we're just looking to maintain. We're not asking for more. We want to maintain the resources that we have. So we continue to serve the students uh and the teachers and the staff do it very well with the limited resources that they have. Um and we just want to keep giving them the opportunity to do that. >> Exactly. All right. So, Matt, looking ahead, what are you most excited about for Lakeville area schools? >> With Lakeville being I think this year again, I think last year we may have been number two, but I think this year we're we're currently on pace for being the number one fastest growing city in the state if I'm not mistaken. >> Um, >> several years in a row, many years in a row. >> And so, yeah, which means more kids. Um, the the schools continue to grow, which creates good problems. um obviously wouldn't want to be going the other direction but uh yeah it's it's just the opportunities that we have. I mean we are moving into a newer era I would say especially with technology um and just having the ability to you know provide opportunities that we never had as kids. I mean I grew up um north of here in a bigger city >> and resources were definitely different. You know educational opportunities I mean I have four kids in the school and the opportunities that they have in school are just incredible. Mhm. >> So in order to keep providing them those opportunities, it's it's yeah, it's vital that you know that we have the the stakeholder support and the public support and uh yeah, as far as what I'm most excited for. I don't know that I if I answered that directly or not, but uh yeah, just seeing where we can go as a district, you know, as we continue to grow 12,000 plus students, um as we eek towards 13,000, uh what we can do to, you know, support our staff, support our schools, and uh provide more opportunities for for our kids. >> Yeah, it seems like um every time we have teachers come and present what they're doing with kids, they're doing amazing things. And I think that's probably what makes me the most excited is how do we continue to use these kinds of resources just to launch creativity and innovation and all those kinds of things that are going to make our students stand out when they go out into the world and try to find what their next step is. >> Yeah. >> All right. One more question. >> Yeah. >> So, as I learned being on the school board now, which I didn't realize before, uh roughly 60% of our population, they don't even have a child in our schools. Um yet they pay taxes as well. And so one of the questions they might have is, you know, why is this levy important to us? >> Yeah, I think there are many reasons um why our all of our community should care about this levy. Um strong schools make strong communities. And so one thing that I would care about as a taxpayer is how my uh personal home value is going to be impacted by our schools. And that is one thing that I've talked with a lot of people about. even if you don't have kids in our schools, your uh livelihood, your home, your property is impacted by how our schools are doing. So when people want to move to Lakeville for our schools, that helps everybody. Um so and even more specifically for our bis business community, a lot of our students um are working actively in our business community and kind of uh internships in the schools and so they are already bringing their skill set to our business community. This technology also enables them to gain additional skills that once they graduate, they can step right into our business community and start helping um shape the next stage of those businesses and overall support the community. >> That is one of the unique things about Lakeville that I've noticed that there are a lot of Lakeville residents, current Lakeville residents, that grew up in Lakeville. >> You know, even if they went away for college, they come back, they want to buy a home here. Um, successful schools obviously attract more more homeowners as well and continue to educate students and send them off into the world and they can help our businesses here at home as well. >> Yeah, I've seen some signs, you know, for um, developments that are being built and one of the things they say is Lakeville schools. Um and so it's very clear that as people are considering where they're going to move to um a lot of people are thinking about schools and that can be for families who have kids but also um having strong schools will just support a community in many ways. >> So just so it's abundantly clear to everyone uh if the public wants to uh vote on the levy renewal uh how do they do that? >> Great question. So, absentee voting is going to start on September 19th. Um, you can vote by mail or you can vote in person at the district office. >> Now, the district office, not city hall, >> not city hall, at the district office in person. And then, um, election day is uh, November 4th, and that's when you can vote at your local precinct. >> All right. And if anyone wants more information regarding the levy renewal, >> so learn everything you want to know about the upcoming levy at the district website and on the link below. All right. Well, thank you for joining us. Maybe uh the first of many podcasts. >> Maybe. You never know. >> This was fun. >> All right. [Music]