More than 3,000 parents and community members in the Anoka-Hennepin School District have stepped into open conflict with district leaders, delivering stacks of petition signatures Monday that call on the school board to put a local operating levy on the November ballot. Organizers say the measure is needed to help close an estimated $22 million budget gap. The signatures landed after a "Let Us Vote" rally at the district's Sandburg Education Center and set up a very public test of who gets to decide when taxpayers weigh in.
The petition drive, led by a group called Parents for Good, relied on volunteers who fanned out across the district before formally handing the paperwork to the board. "After $22 million in cuts, we have schools right now that have over 1,000 kids that have one social worker," Parents for Good founder Sheighlyn Berbig told WCCO. Supporters argue a locally approved levy could help rebuild staffing and services that have been slashed in recent budget cycles.
District legal counsel and administrators pushed back, telling the board that operating levies are a board-level decision and are not automatically triggered by a citizen petition. "Operating levies can only be commenced by action of the school board, but not voter petition," the district said, according to reporting by KSTP. A district spokesperson reiterated that the signatures alone do not place a question on the ballot and said the board will take the petition under advisement while it considers its options.
What Minnesota's Referendum Law Actually Says
Minnesota's statute on referendum revenue includes language that a referendum "may be called by the board or shall be called by the board upon written petition of qualified voters of the district," text available on the Revisor of Statutes website. That phrasing suggests a properly worded petition can obligate a board to call a referendum, although technical requirements, timing and petition form can shape how the law is applied in practice. The legal back-and-forth has residents and officials closely reading both the statute and the district's interpretation. For the statutory language and procedural rules, see the Revisor of Statutes guidance at Minnesota Statute 126C.17.
Estimates of the tax hit are all over the map. Supporters have said the levy would add roughly $30 a month for a homeowner, according to coverage by FOX 9, while district materials have warned that a $400,000 home could see about $600 more a year under the package described by advocates, per CBS Minnesota. The district also says it has trimmed more than $22 million from its budget in recent cycles and eliminated hundreds of positions during that realignment, a reality its leaders point to as they weigh whether to ask voters for new operating revenue.
Board Split And What Comes Next
Board members appeared divided at the meeting, with supporters packing public comment to urge action and opponents warning about higher taxes and mixed district outcomes. The district said it will accept and review the petition and indicated the board may consider next steps at upcoming meetings; the district calendar lists regular board sessions in mid-July and August at the Sandburg Education Center. The district has also posted a notice that negotiators reached a tentative agreement with the teachers' union earlier this year, after mediation helped move contract talks off an immediate strike track.
If the board votes to call a referendum, the question would head to voters in November and would need more than half of those voting to say yes. The statute specifies an "approval of 50 percent plus one" of voters on the question. Observers say the practical outcome will hinge on whether the petition satisfies statutory technicalities and whether the board ultimately adopts a formal resolution to place a question before voters. For full details on timing and voting thresholds, see the Revisor of Statutes entry noted above.
