Will the operations levy be used to pay for the Red Plan?

Yes, almost certainly.

Dr. Dixon has already explained that the General Fund money can be used to pay for building.

We asked the Minnesota Dept of Education for confirmation of something I’ve suspected. That operational levy money could be used to pay for the Red Plan. According to their read of the law:

“. . . the district could use the proceeds of the referendum for any purpose for which general fund dollars can be used, including school operations or capital expenditures, which are part of the general fund. This would include making payments on school district leases that would otherwise be paid from proceeds of lease levies in the general fund.

The district could also use the proceeds of a referendum indirectly to pay principal and interest on bonded debt by transferring operating capital revenue to the debt service fund by board resolution, and then using referendum dollars to cover operating capital expenses within the general fund. The referendum dollars would not be transferred to the operating capital account, but could be used to pay for operating capital expenses without actually transferring them to the operating capital account. . . yes, the district can use operating referendum levies for leases that are part of the general fund budget.”

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