Property tax relief for more affordable school levies
SAFF helped secure millions of state funding, known as equalization, to reduce the cost of voter-approved school levies in primarily residential school districts and provide property tax relief for local taxpayers. All communities value their local schools and must have access to affordable levy revenue so their students can have the same educational opportunities seen in high-wealth school districts.
SAFF Actions Paved the Way for More Affordable School Levies
Over the past several decades, SAFF has worked tirelessly to keep the issue of property tax fairness before the Legislature and has met with considerable success at many junctures. Included in these efforts are:
- Schools Advocating Fair Funding has worked with legislators and legislative staff to develop and introduce numerous bills that address the disparities in funding that exist between Minnesota school districts. This effort has been bipartisan and has earned bipartisan support. The effort has led to increases in referendum equalization during the 2013 and 2018 legislative sessions and the indexing of the debt service equalization program in 2016. The effort continues as the funding gap between high property wealth and low property wealth districts is growing and the current situation calls for action to remedy this widening disparity.
- SAFF created simplified information to educate, engage, and empower education advocates, including superintendents, school board members, parents, and business leaders.
- Business Manager Kim Springer host SAFF days at the Capitol. Armed with SAFF information, education advocates meet face to face with their local legislators in the most effective form of communication.
