Facing the (referendum) music

The drumbeat begins anew.
In the last two years, about 150 Minnesota school districts have attempted operating referendums, and for many different reasons. Sometimes due to financial mismanagement, sometimes deflating enrollment, sometimes unexpected maintenance projects or technology upgrades.
But now, with state aid for schools frozen for at least the next two years (and likely the next four) and delayed aid payments a certainty, some school districts are already forecasting significant budget challenges.
In Mankato schools, where the sting is still evident from the latest $3 million reduction, officials have predicted that future cuts are all but certain.
In Waseca, school officials took to the county fair this week to gauge community support for a referendum desperately needed to maintain programs in the face of declining enrollment.
And the Blue Earth Area School District just hired a consultant to help plan fall referendum.
These schools will not be the last and, in many communities, taxpayers will have the painful decision of taking from their own thinning wallets to keep schools out of debt.