Levy questions OK'd in Montevideo

By Linda Vanderwerf

November 08, 2011 at 11:00 PM

MONTEVIDEO -- A two-question school operating levy was approved Tuesday in the Montevideo School District.

Question 1, to revoke a $505-per-pupil levy and replace it with $700, was approved 1,542 yes to 690 no.

Question 2, for an additional $200 per pupil, was approved 1,396 yes to 826 no.

Superintendent Luther Heller said he was pleased with the results. "We had a good community effort and a good grassroots effort, and that makes all the difference," he said.

The passage of Question 1 will enable the district to maintain programs and to make some changes to decrease class size in secondary math and English classes, Heller said.

Question 2 will allow the district to make investments in technology and curriculum development, he said.

"It's just really refreshing, the way the community came out and supported us," he said. "Local communities are stepping up where the state hasn't."

By Linda Vanderwerf

In 42 years in the newspaper industry, Linda Vanderwerf has worked at several daily newspapers in Minnesota, including the Mesabi Daily News, now called the Mesabi Tribune in Virginia. Previously, she worked for the Las Cruces Sun-News in New Mexico and the Rapid City Journal in the Black Hills of South Dakota. She has been a reporter at the West Central Tribune for nearly 27 years.

Vanderwerf can be reached at email: lvanderwerf@wctrib.com or phone 320-214-4340

Levy questions OK'd in Montevideo

MONTEVIDEO -- A two-question school operating levy was approved Tuesday in the Montevideo School District. Question 1, to revoke a $505-per-pupil levy and replace it with $700, was approved 1,542 yes to 690 no. Question 2, for an additional $200 ...