School Board Unanimously Approves Special Election for Shakopee Community
June 24, 2025
Facing financial challenges similar to many public school districts across Minnesota, the Shakopee School Board unanimously approved a special election for November 4, 2025, during its June 23rd meeting.
The district projects a $7-9 million budget shortfall for the 2026-27 school year. An additional deficit of $1-4 million is projected for the 2027-28 school year. The primary cause of these budget shortcomings is that state education funding isn’t keeping pace with inflation.
For several months, the School Board has been studying future budget projections and examining various pathways forward. In addition to being a regular topic at school board meetings, a Special School Board meeting focusing solely on district finances and featuring extended opportunities for public comment was held at Shakopee High School on June 4.
The opportunity exists for a ‘tax-neutral’ impact with the first ballot question. Tax-neutral, meaning that the total being paid in school district taxes would not increase in 2026 as compared to 2025. District residents would be shifting taxes that were paying for construction debt in 2025 to paying for new operating levy expenses in 2026.
If question one, $620 per pupil in new revenue, were approved by the voters it would add a total of $5,000,052 in operating levy taxes in 2026. At the same time, there will be a reduction of $5,160,455 in taxes for 2026 due to construction debt being paid in full at the end of 2025.
The second question would ask local voters to bring Shakopee Public School’s total operating levy up to the maximum amount allowed in Minnesota. This action is commonly referred to as bringing the operating levy up to the “cap”. The current estimates for bringing Shakopee to the cap are an additional $288 per pupil, providing $2.3 million in annual revenue for Shakopee schools. The numbers for bringing the levy to the cap will soon be finalized by the Minnesota Department of Education and will be shared at the July 28, 2025 school board meeting.
“It is certainly more enjoyable to be talking about the many great things happening in Shakopee Public Schools than it is to be studying challenging financial budget projections,“shared Superintendent Mike Redmond, Ed. D. “The School Board and district leadership have examined the current financial challenges from every perspective and believe it is important for the community’s voice to be heard at the ballot box on November 4 in regard to how our community will address the impending financial challenges.”
The tax impact analysis for each of the two ballot questions for the owners of a $400,000 home will be:
QUESTION ONE is a net increase of $0. A decrease of $209 annual tax on expiring construction debt in 2025 combined with an increase of $209 annual tax on the operating referendum in 2026.
QUESTION TWO is an annual increase of $97, which is a monthly increase of $8.08.
Should question one not be approved by the voters on November 4, the School Board and district leadership will make $5 million in permanent budget cuts for the 2026-27 school year. These cuts are expected to be across-the-board expenditure reductions that are likely to impact every part of school district services. They will also begin planning for another $1-4 million in permanent budget cuts for the 2027-28 school year.
“As with any financial decision, the School Board did not take this decision lightly,” noted Jeff Smith, Shakopee Board Chair. "We’ve appreciated the feedback from the community throughout the spring, including in the 2025 Community Conversation, on considerations to addressing the financial challenges common to school districts across the state. Schools are a partnership with the community. One can’t thrive without the other. It's crucial we retain our dedicated staff, support each and every student and maintain the quality educational experiences and manageable class sizes we, as a district, have worked so hard to provide, regardless of statewide challenges.”
The second levy question is contingent on the passage of the first levy question. In other words, if question one fails, question two automatically fails regardless of the vote count.
In addition to the Special Election called for November 4, 2025, the School Board also unanimously approved making $3 million in permanent expenditure reductions for the 2026-27 school year. These expenditure reductions are primarily adjustments in response to decreases in enrollment, and will not impact class sizes.
During the 2025 Community Conversation (online survey), approximately 1,000 individuals provided feedback on the district’s financial outlook. Of those, roughly 56% expressed favorability towards an operating levy on the November 4th ballot, while 21% requested more information on budget details, impact, accountability and comparisons to neighboring districts. The full summary of the community conversation, presented to the School Board on June 9, 2025, can be found here.
2025 Community Conversation Board Presentation
The special election will be held from 7:00AM -8:00PM at West Middle School, 200 10th Ave E, Shakopee, on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. Additional voting and general information will be shared with the community, in partnership with Scott County, in the coming weeks.
Future community forums, information and engagement opportunities will be noted on the district website and shared in district communications.
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