MORGAN — Cedar Mountain School District voters will determine the fate of a $790 per pupil unit operating levy increase on General Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 6.

If approved, the 10-year operating levy will generate about $400,000 in new revenue and would take effect for the 2019-2020 school year.

Like many Minnesota school districts, Cedar Mountain continues to encounter school funding streams that have not kept up with the costs of running a school including maintaining programs, opportunities and services — such as class size, curriculum and course offerings — or have disappeared, Cedar Mountain Superintendant Robert Tews wrote in his school district column.

“State per-pupil funding of education has not kept pace with inflation that exceeded the general education revenue the district receives by $618 per student over the past 16 years,” Tews wrote.

In addition, Tews wrote that the lack of funding caused the district to cut more than $200,000 from its budget last year. He added that budget reductions alone are not enough to balance the school district budget.

Property taxes on the average Cedar Mountain School District home valued at $75,000 would rise $15 a month or $175 a year if the new operating levy is approved.

Homes are taxed for an operating levy on property value. Agricultural property is taxed on the value of the home, garage and one acre of land. The last Cedar Mountain operating levy increase happened in 2001.

There are very few election races in the area this year. Exceptions are the Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop (GFW) School Board seat in Winthrop. The four candidates are Kevin Caldwell, Nicholas Krueger, Michael Kuehn and Matthew T. Rabe.

Nicollet County has a couple of races. District 2 candidates are Harry Jenness, Terry Morrow and Chuck Zieman. County Attorney candidates are Michelle Zehnder Fischer and Elizabeth Levine.

Sibley County has a number of races including three people seeking the District 1 County Commissioner seat–Bobbie V. Harder, Jim Nytes and James “Rosey” Rosenthal. District 4 has three candidates–Josh Byro, Joy Cohrs and Steve L. Gillespie. District 5 candidates are Gary A. Krueggel, Steven Saxton and Pete Schuckert. County sheriff candidates are Karen Johnson and Patrick Nienaber.

Renville County has several races. District 4 county commissioner candidates are Greg Snow and John Stahl. County recorder candidates are Laurie Abrahamson and John G. Thompson II. County attorney candidates are Laurence J. Stratton and David Torgelson. District 3 Soil and Water Supervisor candidates are Terrylea Ness and Dean Schroeder.

Redwood County District 1 Soil and Water Supervisor candidates are Jeff Potter and Patrick Schoffman.

Redwood Falls mayoral candidates are John Francis Madden and Tom Quackenbush.

The Redwood Falls Area School District has five candidates for four openings–James Boots, Clark Grannes, Tim Joyce, Tony Miller and Erica Plaetz.

The Springfield School District has four candidates for three openings–Ramsey Beyer, Jeffrey A. Kretsch, Mandy (Kuelbs) Rasset and Michael Joseph Rogotzke.

The Sibley East School District has four candidates for three openings–Michael Christeson, Jon Hazelwood, Laura Reid and Sarah Ziegler.

The Nicollet School District has six candidates for three openings–Ashley Black, Ken Bosley, Adam Erickson, George Grubb, Eric Hopp and Scot Osborne.

The Gaylord City Council has five candidates for three openings–Dana M. Candella, Lynn Grochow, Jim Landaas, Tony Joseph Padilla and Jessica F. Uecker.

Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.