It's great to see all of the Kids First members out, wearing their T-shirts to support a good cause. Our kids are important, and volunteering time and tax dollars to our schools is a key to their success.

A referendum is just one way you can help your local school district. Use your talents -- and your money if you please -- to help educate our schoolchildren.

 (Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)

The proposed school referendum would garner $425 per pupil units. What's the projection of the total amount that will be received, then? How does the district figure the projections for how many pupils will be in the schools?

Also, a pupil unit isn't actually one person. Does anybody know of a good link to information about what is a pupil unit? I know it's a complicated definition, and I haven't studied up on it since I don't have kids.

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)

Who wouldn't take all the money he is given? Are there actually examples of school boards that did not tax people as much as they were allowed? I'm sure there are examples out there.

But I think a lot of people are asking those questions. They are fair ones to ask.

I trust the Jordan School Board and its administration. From my limited experience, I feel that Superintendent Larry Kauzlarich, Chairman Ira Beckman, and the rest of the board are honest and fairly open about financial issues.

What factors into the decision of an elected official who is faced with whether or not to levy the full amount of taxes allowed by a referendum? When would a board deviate from taking all of the money it is allowed to take?

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)

The Jordan School District is a very well-managed school district. That can be directly attributed to the fudiciary responsibility that the superintendent and the elected members of the school board take very seriously. The decisions they would need to make in the years following a successful levy referendum are hard to predict. However, given their past fiscal record, any decisions to spend the money available through a levy would be made with a high regard for both student needs and taxpayer accountability.

One situation that could result in a school board levying an amount lower than the maximum approved by voters would be a substantial increase in funding from the state. Adequate state funding would reduce the need for additional revenue from local residents.

Any elected official represents their constituents and will be held accountable for their decisions. For me personally, that accountability is about using available resources to provide a quality education for our children and a quality school district for our community. If I know that the money they are spending is going torwards these two end results, then I know the money is being spent in good faith.

The factors used for the different grade levels are determined by the state legislature. I do not believe they have changed significantly for many years. The pupil units a district has each year do change because the number of students enrolled in the district changes each year.

Most school districts have a fund balance. Most private sector companies have a fund balance because it is good business practice. A fund balance is used to maintain cash flow to avoid short-term borrowing for paying bills, to save adequate resources for unexpected, emergency needs, to build up revenue for planned future needs, and to ensure strong financial ratings. The Jordan school district has been able to use its fund balance to maintain programs over the past several years despite no or below inflation increases in state funding. By doing this, the school district has had to make only limited budget reductions and has not had to seek approval of a levy referendum.

This is very unique as most surrounding school districts have either had to make substantial budget reductions or seek approval of referendum in amounts equal to or higher than the one being proposed by the Jordan school board.

Why is it necessary for the Jordan school board to request approval of a referendum? It is not a good practice to continue using up a fund balance and without additional revenue, budget reductions affecting class size and programs will be necessary.

For more information on the referendum please go to the Jordan school district website at http://jordan.k12.mn.us/ and click on referendum brochure.

The comments on the referendum have been interesting. Dave Helke has done a good job of answering several questions. One question or comment I'd like to respond to is the question of the board having the ability to NOT levy the full amount yearly if not needed. It was suggested this would probably never happen. In fact, the board has done this in the past. The district has also lowered fees in times when the fund balance was in good shape. In 1995 the fee for participation in sports at the HS level was $60. It was dropped to $30 around 1998. It was just moved back to $60 in 05-06. Even at $60 the fee is the lowest in the area.
The district also did all of its technology wiring of the buildings out of the general fund. Some other districts ran technology referendums for this.
The Jordan district has been very sensitive to the taxpayers as it has tried to provide educational programs for the students of our district. Our philosophy for the past decade has been to provide the best programs in the most economical ways.
The fact the district has had a fund balance for the past decade has benefited all of us. Other districts have had to come to their public with referendum requests much earlier than our district.
Information on the referendum request is being sent out on October 19th. Please review this and compare the amount of the Jordan request to the already exisiting referendums in our neighboring schools. I think this will show the district is sensitive to the taxpayers of our district.

Mathias, I wasn't upset with your comment regarding whether or not a board would actually not levy the full amount. Your comment was understandable. I was just replying to it, that, in fact, our board has done that in the past.

Be informed about levy referendum!

We received the information on the referendum in the mail today. Hopefully the information is very helpful to all residents in the school district.

The school district is also having a public meeting this coming Monday, October 23rd at 7:30 PM in the Jordan High School Lecture room on the proposed levy referendum. If you need more information or have questions definitely take advantage of this opportunity.

If you are unable to attend this meeting, you can call Larry Kauzlarich, Superintendent of Jordan School District, at 952-492-6200.

Another way to get additional information is to contact the KIDSFIRST Referendum 2006 committee at kidsfirst@mn.rr.com or 952-492-6653.

Finally, this forum on the JI website is another useful way to ask questions, seek information, and participate in a discussion of the proposed levy referendum.

I encourage everyone to take the time to understand the proposed levy referendum and the needs of our school district.

Brandon Otte is working on a story and statistics to go in the print edition of the paper. For a good look at the referendum, read the Jordan Independent.

The above posts on this Web site are also very informative. Make an educated vote.

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)

Two comments.

1. Isn't Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 7. The forum topic says Nov. 8.

2. Nice to see Eagle Ridge Principal Dave Helke participating in this discussion. You know, Dave, the Savage Pacer has this kind of web site, too, and the school district you work for (Burnsville-Eagan-Savage) has a levy referendum on the ballot too. How about tossing some of your comments Savage's way now and again?

Thanks for the correction, Nancy. I made the change. Election day is, in fact, Tuesday, Nov. 7. and not Wednesday, Nov. 8.

Whether one agrees with using property tax dollars to fund schools or not, that is the option the Minnesota Legislature has provided to schools. Our school district is being very reasonable in its request. If approved, Jordan would have one of the lowest operating levies in the surrounding area. District leaders are being accountable to all of us by requesting approval of a levy this Tuesday that balances the needs of our schools with the needs of all of us as property owners. I respect the financial decisions being made by our school board and I want quality schools for my kids and I plan to VOTE YES on November 7th.