Property Tax Hearing and School Board Meeting

This week the Roseville Area School Board is meeting for two purposes on Tuesday, Dec. 9. The first meeting is the Truth-in-Taxation Hearing for property taxes payable in 2026. After that, there will be a regular school board meeting.

Here's an overview of what will be presented at these meetings and how to participate:

Community Input

5:30 p.m. 

If you want to provide any feedback or share something with the school board, come to the community input session at 5:30 p.m. You must sign up by 3:00 p.m. the day of the meeting by filling out an online sign-up form or contacting the superintendent's office in person, by email, or by phone: 651-628-6452.

The Community Input session is not livestreamed or posted online to watch later.

Truth-in-Taxation Hearing

6:00 p.m.
View presentation slides

Minnesota state law requires the school district to hold a public meeting between Nov. 25 to Dec. 29 to present the current year budget and proposed property tax levy.

Shari Thompson, director of business services, will be presenting background information on school funding, the district's budget, and the district's proposed tax levy for 2026. There will also be an opportunity for public comment.

The state of Minnesota sets formulas for public school funding. Most school revenue is based on specified amounts per pupil. The state also authorizes school boards to submit referendums for operating and capital needs to voters for approval, which is what happened with the most recent levy for technology.

Thompson will be going over how the general education formula allowance has increased since the 2002-2003 and how it has not kept pace with inflation. According to the presentation files:

"Per-pupil allowance for Fiscal Year 2025-26 0f $7,481 would need to increase by another $1,420 (19%) to have kept pace with inflation since 2002-03, resulting in an allowance of $8,901"

Thompson will present an overview of the different revenue streams and expenditure actuals for fiscal year 2024 and the budget for fiscal year 2025. The presentation includes a breakdown of the various revenue funds and where it comes from, as well as how that money is spent. For example, here's a slide detailing the general fund expenditures by program. (This excludes Long-Term Facilities Maintenance and Operating Capital.)

Thompson will also go over how the tax levy is calculated. A change in the tax levy does not necessarily mean the budget will increase or decrease by the same amount. The presentation includes details on how property values and other factors influence property tax changes.

The proposed payable 2026 tax levy is an increase of $8.8 million or 17.4%. The presentation will include details on the changes by levy category and reasons for major increases and decreases in the levy and what this means for residential and commercial/industrial taxpayers. 11.8% of this increase is due to the capital projects levy for technology that voters approved in November. The remaining 5.6% increase is a result of prior year levy adjustments.

For a $350,000 home in Roseville, the estimated change in school property tax is an increase of $233 annually. This includes the approved referendum in the recent election for the capital projects levy for technology.

There is much more detail in the presentation. You can view the slides online, but you'll need to attend the hearing for a comprehensive explanation from district staff.

Once the school board accepts the public comments, they will certify the 2026 property tax levy.

The next school year budget will be approved in June 2026 and there will be opportunities to comment before then too.

Regular School Board Meeting

6:45 p.m.
View Full Agenda

During the regular school board meeting, there will be three separate recognitions of individuals and groups.

The first is a recognition of Mebal Kaanyi, a Schmitty & Sons school bus driver who saved a four-year-old boy's life recently when she saw him run into Lake Owasso. She stopped her bus and ran into the water after him. Kaanyi is a Shoreview resident who drives school bus for Roseville Area Schools.

Shoreview bus driver awarded for rescue of 4-year-old in Lake Owasso

So when she was driving her afternoon bus route for Roseville Area Schools, she noticed a four-year-old boy running down the street crying. He didn’t appear to have parents with him and was barefoo…

Twin CitiesImani Cruzen

Hero school bus driver saves lost boy who wandered into Lake Owasso

The Ramsey County Sherriff’s Office says a nonverbal four-year-old boy’s mother reported he had wandered off before he was later found in the arms of a school bus driver.

FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. PaulSoyoung Kim

Next, there will be a recognition of Fall Sports Student Athletes before recognizing the retiring board members. The two board members who are leaving the board at the end of their terms this year are Kitty Gogins who has served on the board since 2022 and Dr. Frank Shaw, who served as an interim director since January 2025.

Reports and Non-Action Items

2024-2025 Audit Report

A representative from the auditing firm CliftonLarson LLP will present the results of the annual audit for the fiscal year which ended June 30, 2025. The financial data has been uploaded to the Minnesota Department of Revenue and once the report is finalized it will be submitted to the Minnesota Department of Education before Dec. 31. Formal action to accept the audit report will be requested at the next regular board meeting on Jan. 13, 2026.

Policy 432: Tobacco Free Environment; Possession and Use of Tobacco, Tobacco Related Devices, and Electronic Delivery Devices (revised) First Reading

Delon Smith, associate superintendent, will present proposed revisions to Policy 432. This includes updated definitions of commercial tobacco, language prohibiting the promotion of tobacco products by students and staff, and allowable exceptions to the policy. The added exception to the policy is that American Indian students or staff members may use tobacco, sage, sweetgrass, and cedar to conduct smudging in a public school with supervision and approval of the building or site administrator.

This policy is under review after it was requested in a community input session by members of the Association of Nonsmokers in Minnesota (ANSR) Ramsey County Student Action Team. Student feedback was incorporated into the draft.

Action Items

Final Levy Certification

The board will vote on the final levy certification as presented at the Truth-in-Taxation hearing. The recommendation is for the board to approve the final levy in the amount of $59,606,864.22 to fund the 2026-2027 school year.

Reschedule Jan. 13, 2026 Work Study Session

The board will consider changing the time for the Jan. 13 Work Study Session to 4:30 p.m.

Reports

As always, the meeting will end with individual board member reports and the superintendent's report.

How to Watch the School Board Meeting

School Board meetings are open to the public unless a closed session is part of the agenda. Meetings are held in the Fairview Room at Aŋpétu Téča Education Center (1910 County Road B West in Roseville). Meetings are usually held on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month, except July.

You can watch live on the district's Channel 18, streamed live online, or on the Roseville Area Schools YouTube Channel. A recording of the meeting will be uploaded within 7 days to the board meeting archives.

This is the last school board meeting of 2025. The board will be back on January 13, 2026 with the newly elected school board members.