A Nov. 2 referendum on spending money to pull the Carlton school district out of its financial hole should come as no surprise to any voter in the Carlton area.
The school district underwent a very public struggle this summer to grasp the implication of its $685,000 statutory operating debt and to come up with three state-mandated plans (Plans A, B and B-1) to get out of that debt.
Plan C is supposed to outline at what point the district would seek to either dissolve or consolidate with another school district. Should the district dissolve and its students be sent to a neighboring school district, voters would have to pay off the Carlton school district's existing debt plus the new school district's school taxes and excess levy amounts. Currently, on a $100,000 home, taxpayers in Barnum pay $504, Cromwell $473, Esko $417, Cloquet $403, Wrenshall $354, while Carlton taxpayers pay $250. If the referendum passes, the Carlton resident would then pay about $412 in total school taxes on a $100,000 home.
November's ballot question will make it the second time this year that the Carlton district has asked voters to approve an excess levy.
In April, a two-part referendum ballot failed by a narrow margin. The first question asked voters to support a seven-year extension of the current operating referendum and a second question requested support for an additional operating referendum that would increase the amount of money available per student unit from $500 to $850.
The failure of that levy and subsequent lack of cuts by the district triggered the state's request for the standard operating debt plans.
