Governor Dayton and the 2018 Legislature passed School Safety Grants last spring. Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) designed an application process and lottery for selection. MDE received a total of 1,187 complete applications, requesting $255.5 million—more than 10 times the available amount of funding.

In October, MDE announced that 90 Minnesota public schools districts or charter schools were awarded School Safety Grants at 123 building sites across the state.

Columbia Heights Public Schools submitted six grant applications, one for each of the building sites. The District is grateful that two of the six sites were selected. MDE awarded the District two grants, one at Columbia Academy and the other at North Park Elementary. The grants are now being finalized with MDE. MDE has stated that “the funding is contingent upon any negotiations and clarifications that will be necessary before executing the award, including the submission and approval of a full work plan and budget.” The total grant amount requested for Columbia Academy was $77,368 and for North Park Elementary was $444,098, both amounts are contingent upon the finalizing of the grant. MDE is working its way through the grant recipients for follow up meetings. The District is currently awaiting notification from MDE when the planning meeting will be held and the grant award specifics and financials will be finalized. When the grant is finalized and approved, it will benefit and supplement what the District has planned in the area of school safety. The District will communicate to parents and the community more of the award details when the grant has been finalized and is official.

The District is grateful that MDE has recognized the need to support school safety across the state and specifically in Columbia Heights Public Schools. In light of escalating incidents of school violence across the Nation, the District can never do enough and always do more to protect students and address parents’ concerns about secure schools. Parents demand safe and secure schools and the community expects it.

This is a request of voters to increase taxes for the purpose of improving school facilities. If approved by voters, the bonds can only be used in larger “bricks and mortar” projects that are not covered by the District's General Fund and the 2014 Capital Projects Levy.

1996

The District is asked for $17,013,311. It is important to note that the tax impact to voters is based on their property values.

15 years

The Bond Referendum has now moved into the building stage beginning with ground breaking celebrations at both sites in late August.

The addition of the CHHS band room and the renovated performing art spaces are scheduled to be completed by February 2020. The extensive renovations at North Park Elementary are scheduled to be completed by September 2020.

You can read the resolution here. 

The 2014 voter approved Capital Projects Levy was to provide plumbing, roofing and other maintenance, along with an investment in educational technology. Learn more about the 2014 Capital Projects Levy.

When voters approved the 2014 Operational Levy, it renewed the existing operational levy which extended it for an additional ten years.

The 2014 Operational Levy is a 10 year levy.  The school district first received these funds in fiscal year 2016 and will continue to receive these funds through fiscal year 2026. The school board is presented with annual updates on progress of the 2014 Operational Levy and the annual updates on the 2014 Operational Levy can be found on the District website.

The 1966 building is not meeting current safety, security and educational needs.

First, the 2018 Bond will provide a secure point of entry for all visitors which includes moving the administrative office to a new secure main entrance. Additional safety measures would be put in place outside where currently the bus lane is on the playground where children play. Second, the Bond includes upgrading the library, creating separate Science, Arts and early childhood classrooms. The project would also include constructing a cafeteria so that students would no longer eat in a space that is co-located with the gymnasium.

The Bond will update and modernize the performing arts spaces, purchasing and installing a soundboard in a renovated booth, including a new permanent speaker system, wiring, screen, projector, control systems, flooring, seating, carpeting, painting, curtains, dressing rooms and an American with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant ramp. It will also support a new and larger band classroom, separate practice spaces, instrument repair and cleaning space, instrument storage, improved acoustics and natural lighting and furnishings.

Yes both CA and CHHS have full-time band teachers.

Yes. District budgets from Fiscal Year 2013-2014 to the present are available on the Financial Reports page. Additionally, after School Board approval of a budget, the District includes that decision in the School Board Report, which is made available to the news media and public.

Yes. Each year the School District is audited by an independent auditing firm. These audits look at virtually every aspect of the District's financial operations. A representative from the auditing firm of Bergan, Kern DeWenter Viere (BerganKDV) told the Columbia Heights School Board that district business operations are well-managed and consistent with national accounting standards at the Nov. 22 School Board meeting. Last October, the Association of School Business Officials International selected the Columbia Heights Public Schools’ Finance Department for its eleventh consecutive Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting award. The award is the highest recognition for school district financial operations and is only conferred to school districts that have met or exceeded the most stringent standards for financial reporting and accountability.

All public school districts receive general education aid, of which a portion is identified for long term facilities maintenance which would not cover improving safety and modernizing learning spaces.

In certain instances the School Board can increase taxes without going to the voters, such as lease levies. This is not a privilege unique to Columbia Heights Public Schools and is consistent with state statutes.

Tax capacity and tax valuation figures are calculated from the Anoka County Tax and Assessment Department.

The District provides approximate tax increases based on specified property values. The District cannot guarantee changes in taxes based on either increases or decreases in property values. Source: Anoka County Records, Taxation and Assessment Department.

Yes, there are multiple studies and reports verifying that good schools can have a positive impact on a homeowner's property. It is important to note that every community is different; however, there are specific examples that should be considered. For instance, a 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 25 percent of the home buyers listed school quality and 20 percent listed proximity to schools as deciding factors in purchasing their homes. To be informed, check with the county tax assessor for details as they relate to your home.

No. The District, like all government entities that receive taxpayer approved referendums, can only use the funding for the designated purposes approved by voters.

Yes, the district has a responsibility to provide the public with factual information about the details of the proposed bond referendum. The District must follow the Attorney General Opinion 159A-3 (May 24, 1966). The School District must provide information about this Bond Referendum in a neutral manner.

The District - aligned to its Strategic Roadmap -conducts community surveys. During the past two years, these surveys included questions related to North Park Elementary School and Columbia Heights High School. The most recent survey (Spring 2017), conducted by an independent research organization, found that 72.4 percent of the respondents (+/- 5.3 percent margin of error) indicated they would support this Bond Referendum.