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2024 A Big Year for Education
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE
New school year, hot news items
Our last Education column was out the first of March 2024 (so remember it was written in February.) Just days after that, many important education news items inundated the local media. So I’m going to cover most of that “in case you missed it,” but first here are some more current items.
It’s election season; let’s kick off with the “tech levy” question for Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) on the ballot Nov. 5. It’s called a “tech” levy, but it’s bigger than just computers and AV, and encompasses all things related to operations, including staff costs and infrastructure. Please vote Yes for this! It will increase the tech levy from its current level of around $18 million to around $38 million. It will be in effect for 10 years and will raise your property tax only $1 to $8 per month.
Breaking news in September: MPS board member Faheema Feerayarre, who represented District 3 in South Minneapolis, resigned too late to get a special election replacement candidate on the upcoming ballot, so the school board will be appointing a replacement for the term, which runs through January, 2027.
More breaking news (I hope it’s not even bigger by the time you read this) is a measles outbreak in area schools. As of mid-September, the countywide case count was 51. The first…
