Are school districts in Minnesota ever going to get to the point where budgets don’t have to be cut? From what I have read, Austin Public Schools is in a financial situation that is similar to most districts across the state. The state has not provided enough revenue for districts so they have to cut budgets and ask voters to approve an operating levy that will not increase your taxes.

If the operating levies are not renewed, we will need to make more budget reductions. These cuts would be on top of the $2.4 million that has been cut since 2000-2001. Cutting the budget means that we are taking our school district in the wrong direction. We need to work on improving things for our kids, not reducing what we provide

More budget cuts are not the answer. The state has not kept up with its obligation to fund our schools, and federal stimulus money that the school receives is one time only money that is keeping us afloat this year. We must step up as a community and renew the operating levies and provide the funds to our schools that are so desperately needed.

JoAnn Rollie

Austin