St. Paul Schools' Big Spend on Tax Vote

St. Paul Public Schools didn't hold back when it came to convincing voters to support a new tax levy. They spent a whopping $125, 000 to get the word out. This included everything from lawn signs to YouTube videos featuring parents, students, and teachers. They even hired a consultant to help with the campaign. All of this was done to ensure that voters had the information they needed to make an informed decision. The school district had to be careful, though. There are rules about how much they can spend on these kinds of campaigns. They made sure to follow the guidelines, spending about $48, 000 on required mailers alone. The rest of the money went to things like radio and TV ads, printing, and even paying teachers extra for their appearances in campaign materials.The goal was to make sure that no one could say they didn't know what the levy was about. The district wanted to avoid any surprises, whether the levy passed or failed. They also made sure to reach out to different communities, including Hmong, Somali, and Spanish-speaking residents, through targeted ads and community events. The school district has a big budget, around $1 billion, so $125, 000 might not seem like much. But it's still a significant amount of money. The district made sure to use it wisely, focusing on getting the information out to as many people as possible. They even encouraged staff to distribute lawn signs to their neighbors. The levy passed, and the district is now looking at how to use the additional $37 million per year for the next decade. The money will mostly go toward wages, with a smaller portion for administrative services. The district has already made cuts in central office departments to help balance the budget.