Voters in 60 Minnesota school districts will go to the polls Nov. 7 for bond or operating referendum questions to fund needs in their school districts. Seventeen of these districts will ask both types of questions.
Operating Referendums
Forty-eight school districts will ask for support of operating referendums. Thirty-five of these districts seek increases in operating referendums, roughly 10 percent of Minnesota’s school districts.
| Nov 7 Operating Referendums | Districts Seeking Increase | Districts Asking for Renewal Only | Totals |
| Rural | 20 | 9 | 29 |
| Metro | 15 | 4 | 19 |
| Totals | 35 | 13 | 48 |
Since 2002, school districts have increasingly relied on the operating referendum and other local levies to meet the educational needs of students. When adjusted for inflation, the formula and other state general fund support has lost nearly $1,000 per pupil in buying power over the past 15 years. Learn more
MREA can prepare a report for your district on your state and local funding since 2002. Request a report here.
Bond Referendums
Thirty-nine districts are asking for approval for school building and technology bonds totaling nearly $1.7 billion on Nov. 7. While the number of districts is nearly equal rural to metro, metro districts are seeking over twice as much in total bonded indebtedness.
| Nov 7 Bond Questions | Districts | Bonded Indebtedness |
| Rural | 21 | $556 million |
| Metro | 18 | $1,136 million |
| Totals | 39 | $1,695 million |
Recent Results
So far in 2017, as was in 2014-2016, rural voters have turned down more bond questions than they have approved. This is the opposite trend for metro school districts.
| 2017 Bond Questions January-September | Passed | Failed | Totals |
| Rural | 8 | 14 | 22 |
| Metro | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Totals | 10 | 15 | 25 |
New Bonus
New this year for Greater Minnesota schools is the 40 percent Ag2School Bond Credit to provide a fairer state share of the costs of facilities to education Minnesota’s rural students. Learn more
View list of Operating Referendums
A special thanks to MSBA for providing the election lists.
[…] As a result, here is where Minnesota school districts find themselves facing their budget building season for the 2018-19 school year—exclusive of the 48 district seeking operating referendum renewals or increases. […]