Minneapolis voters approve $20M school tax hike; Kim Ellison, Greta Callahan win school board races

Minneapolis voters on Tuesday approved a $20 million-a-year tax increase to help ease pressure on the city’s cash-strapped school district.

They also added a new but familiar face — former teachers union president Greta Callahan — to a school board now tasked with making budget-balancing moves early next year.

The tax hike was designed to cover technology expenses, specifically, but officials said it had the added benefit of freeing up funds covering general classroom operations and minimizing cuts to other programs and services.

District expenditures currently outpace revenue by about $85 million annually, making financial sustainability a key issue for board candidates and community members.

Lara Bergman, an early childhood educator who faced Callahan in the race for the District 6 seat, spoke openly about the potential need to close and merge schools to steady district finances and expand offerings: “It is a disservice to our community to paint some sort of other rosy picture,” she said.

But Callahan, former president of the teachers chapter of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, had urged a more cautious approach to consolidation: “I want Minneapolis Public Schools to thrive, not to dismantle it,” she said.

The District 6 seat is in southwest Minneapolis and is currently held by Ira Jourdain, who did not seek re-election.

Incumbent Kim Ellison overcame a challenge from Shayla Owodunni, a preschool tutor and former governance, risk and compliance consultant, in the race for a citywide seat.

Ellison, a former board chair, had said of her re-election bid: “We have very, very hard decisions to make. And the job’s not done yet.”

Owodunni said that the district needed to be more transparent about its finances: “My job is to demystify those areas,” she said.

Incumbents Sharon El-Amin and Adriana Cerrillo, who ran unopposed, also prevailed.

Next week, the current board is expected to decide who will fill the District 3 seat vacated by Faheema Feerayarre, who resigned in September — too late for the seat to be put on the November ballot.