It's election day and while there is nothing on the ballot in Rochester, there is plenty at stake for a number of area school districts. A total of 15 school districts have school levies on the ballot. There are also school board elections in Austin, Blooming Prairie, Goodhue and Pine Island. In Rushford, voters will decide once and for all whether to keep close the city's municipal liquor store by the end of the year. They will also vote for mayor and two city council seats.
Here are the districts conducting referendums in southeastern Minnesota, the amount each seeks, and the effect on a $150,000 home. Renewals of existing levies do not cause tax increases.
• Austin seeks permission to sell $28.9 million in bonds to build an intermediate school and add on to Woodson Kindergarten Center. The tax increase for a $150,000 house would be $188. However, because of the retirement of another debt costing $114 a year, the actual increase would be $74 a year.
• Byron seeks a $290 per-student levy override, raising $540,000 per year. Its current levy of $126.10 expires this year. The total tax effect for a $150,000 house would be $95 per year, reflecting an increase of $53 per year. Vote at Byron Middle School, 601 Fourth St. N.W., from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. More information online at tinyurl.com/63aqydk .
• Caledonia seeks a renewal of a $725.96 per-pupil levy override, which raises $620,000 per year. More information online at tinyurl.com/3vc9pdz .
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• Cannon Falls seeks a $950 per-pupil levy override, revoking and replacing a current $500 per-pupil override. That would raise a total of $625,000 per year. The tax effect for a $150,000 house would be $278 per year total, reflecting an increase of $131 per year.
• Chatfield seeks a $350.77 per-pupil levy override renewal that raises $343,000 per year, and a $250 levy increase that would raise $243,000. For a $150,000 house, the renewal reflects a tax effect of $109 per year, and the increase would cost an additional $77 per year. Vote at the elementary school media center from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. More information online at tinyurl.com/3dfo78d .
• Dover-Eyota seeks a $127 per-pupil renewal, raising $132,000 a year. The tax effect on a $150,000 home is $40 per year, reflecting no change. Vote at the high school auditorium from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. More information online at tinyurl.com/3jkafqz .
• Goodhue seeks a $500 per-pupil levy override, to replace the $126 override that expires after this year, raising a total of $310,000. The effect on a $150,000 house would be $160 total, reflecting a $119 increase. More information online at tinyurl.com/3j6ywc6 .
• Hayfield seeks a $900 per-pupil levy override, revoking and replacing the present $600 one, which would raise an additional $285,000. The tax increase on a $150,000 house would be $138. Vote from noon to 8 p.m. at the Brownsdale Elementary School, the Sargeant Community Center, and the Hayfield Elementary School. More information online at www.hayfield.k12.mn.us/ .
• Kenyon-Wanamingo seeks a $126 per-pupil renewal, and a $173 per-pupil increase. More information online at tinyurl.com/3t55l88 .
• Lewiston-Altura seeks a $501.65 per-pupil renewal, which raises $425,000. The tax effect on a $150,000 house is $177 per year, but reflects no change. More information online at tinyurl.com/3oet7gz .
• Lyle seeks a $840 per-pupil renewal, which raises $104,000. The tax effect on a $150,000 house is $298 per year, but reflects no change. More information online at tinyurl.com/3ks6d63 .
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• Mabel-Canton seeks a $1,207.96 per-pupil renewal, which raises $375,000. More information online at tinyurl.com/687ft95 .
• Pine Island seeks a $500 per-pupil renewal, which raises $600,000, and a $200 increase, which would raise an additional $250,000. The tax effect on a $150,000 house would be $157 for the renewal and a $63 increase for the new levy. More information online at tinyurl.com/6yyq8do .
• Plainview-Elgin-Millville seeks a $293 per-pupil renewal, which raises $500,000. Vote from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. in the high school gym. More information online at tinyurl.com/3eebg7e .
• St. Charles seeks a $300 per-pupil increase, which raises $300,000. The property tax increase on a $150,000 house would be $96. Vote from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the St. Charles Elementary School gymnasium. More information online at tinyurl.com/3bgdcg8 .
