St. Paul schools to pitch $37 million tax increase to voters

St. Paul voters will be asked in November to pitch in extra funding to help halt a string of yearly multimillion-dollar budget cuts to the city’s schools.

Public Schools Superintendent Stacie Stanley told school board members Tuesday that the proposed $37.2 million-a-year tax increase is not about program enhancements but fiscal stability.

“This is about honoring our commitment to every student who walks through our doors,” Stanley said.

The board voted 6 to 0 to add the funding request to the city’s Nov. 4 general election ballot.

The action comes after members wrestled with a $51 million deficit for 2025-26 — a shortfall eased in large part by a drawing down of rainy-day funds — and as they face the prospect of another $37 million in staff and program cuts in the 2026-27 school year.

The owner of a median-valued $289,200 home would pay an additional $309 in school taxes in 2026 if the ballot measure is approved, district officials say.

In a statement, Leah VanDassor, president of the St. Paul Federation of Educators, said: “St. Paul has always stepped up to support its community — and now we need our neighbors to do it again for our public schools."

Districts across Minnesota have weighed asking voters to back additional funding for day-to-day operations and capital projects after approving waves of cuts and layoffs ahead of the 2025-26 school year.

The Trump administration also recently added uncertainty to district budgets by withholding nearly $7 billion in funding to the nation’s schools.

St. Paul arrived at its $37.2 million-a-year figure by comparing how much it raises in voter-approved revenue with the taxes that residents have agreed to pay in nine other metro area school districts.

According to a board report, St. Paul currently collects $1,167 per pupil in voter-approved funding. At the top of the 10-district list is Minneapolis Public Schools, which receives $3,679 per pupil courtesy of its voters.

Tax proposals also will appear on Nov. 4 ballots in the neighboring Roseville, North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale and Mounds View school districts.

Last month, Peter Leatherman, chief executive of the survey firm Morris Leatherman Co., told St. Paul school board members that “inadequate funding” has been identified by survey respondents across the state as the most serious issue facing schools.

His firm also surveyed St. Paul residents, and the district garnered generally favorable marks. The results showed 68% of the 700 respondents saying they supported or strongly supported a $37 million-a-year tax increase, Leatherman said.