The Anoka Hennepin School Board meets Monday night for the first time since the district rejected a petition from a group of parents wanting to get a referendum on the November ballot.
More than 3,000 parents in the Anoka-Hennepin School District want voters to consider paying more in property taxes to avoid school staffing cuts.
"We've had $22 million of budget cuts, we've lost 275 positions, we have a projected deficit going forward of about $10 million," says Sheighlyn Berbig, cofounder of ‘Parents for Good.’
They are the group that's worked to get the signatures on a petition to force the matter, but it was denied for legal reasons, according to the school board.
"At some point, the school board and the district will have to be discussing referendums at any rate, because there's one that expires next year," says district spokesperson Jim Skelly.
He says the matter could come up at the meeting but it's not on the agenda, and per state law, the board faces an August 11 deadline to place a question on the ballot for the November election.
Berbig says they are not ready to give up.
"People put a lot of work into this," adds Bergig. "I mean, we are the largest district in the state, but it's still really hard for a bunch of moms just to get 3,000 signatures. So we put a lot of work into it and we're going to continue further. We don't know exactly what is going to happen next, but we are committed to continuing to fight to get this on the ballot."
The board meets Monday evening, where Berbig says they'll ask again to allow voters to put the question on the ballot.
