Capital levy of Moorhead school districts narrowly defeated – InForum

MOORHEAD – Voters in the Moorhead School District went to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 5, to make their voices heard on a referendum on a capital projects levy.

Moorhead Area Public Schools said the levy would raise $4.3 million each year over 10 years, with funding going toward curriculum enhancements, facility improvements, technology investments and transportation.

The tax referendum failed: 51.42% or 11,090 people voted no, and 48.58% or 10,476 voted yes, in the final but unofficial results.

The tax referendum required a simple majority.

Superintendent Brandon Lunak released this statement:

“I would like to thank every community member who helped share our message and stood by our side. While we did not achieve the outcome we had hoped for, your dedication to our schools is greatly appreciated. We will continue to work together to support Moorhead students and staff in every possible way.”

Together with the district’s existing operating levy, the capital projects levy would have helped close a projected $9.5 million budget gap by 2025, Lunak previously said.

The operating levy brings in $1.7 million annually to the school district, which amounts to $223.66 per student, Lunak said. The district has not increased its operating levy in more than a decade.

The MAPS budget is in deficit, he said, due to inflation and underfunding of state-mandated programs such as special education, transportation and English learner services.

For a home valued at $250,000, the capital projects levy would have increased property taxes by about $15 per month, the school district said.

In 2019, Moorhead voters

approved a $110 million school bond referendum

by a wide margin. The referendum to finance

construction of a new secondary school

and renovating a former Sam’s Club into a career academy, approved with 76% approval.

Huebner is a veteran of television and print journalism in Fargo-Moorhead for more than 35 years.