ELECTION RESOLUTION CALLING SPECIAL ELECTION

HELD:  AUGUST 21, 2023 

Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a regular meeting of the School Board of Independent School District No. 2149 (Minnewaska Area Schools), State of Minnesota, was duly held in the School District on August 21, 2023, at 7:00 o’clock p.m.

The following members were present: Barsness, T. Reichmann, Lagred, A. Reichmann, Holtberg, Zavadil, Ogdahl

and the following were absent: None

Member Ogdahl, moved the adoption of the following Resolution:

RESOLUTION RELATING TO RENEWING THE EXPIRING CAPITAL PROJECT LEVY AUTHORIZATION TO FUND TECHNOLOGY OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, APPROVING A CAPITAL PROJECT LEVY AUTHORIZATION TO FUND TECHNOLOGY OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND CALLING AN ELECTION THEREON

BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of Independent School District No. 2149, State of Minnesota, as follows:

1. The School Board hereby determines and declares that it is necessary and expedient for the School District to submit a capital project levy authorization to the voters for their approval. This authorization would renew the School District’s existing authorization, which is scheduled to expire after taxes payable in 2024.  The renewed authorization will be in the amount of 1.429% times the net tax capacity of the School District, will raise approximately $380,315 for taxes payable in 2025, the first year it is to be levied, and would be authorized for ten (10) years.  The estimated total cost of the projects to be funded by this authorization during that time period is approximately $3,803,147.  The revenue from the proposed capital project levy authorization will be used to provide funds for school district technology, including the acquisition, installation, replacement, support and maintenance of software, software licenses, computers, improved technology equipment, technology systems related to security and operations, digital curriculum, and to pay the costs of technology related personnel and training. The program will be commenced prior to November 1, 2028, which date is not more than five (5) years from the date of the special election authorizing the approval of the capital project levy.  The question on the approval of the capital project levy authorization shall be School District Question 1 on the School District ballot at the special election held to approve said authorization.

2. The School Board hereby determines and declares that it is necessary and expedient for the School District to submit a capital project levy authorization for technology to the voters for their approval.  The capital project levy authorization will be in the amount of 1.879% times the net tax capacity of the school district. The proposed capital project levy will raise approximately $500,000 for taxes payable in 2025, the first year it is to be levied, and would be authorized for ten (10) years. The estimated total cost of the projects to be funded by the approved capital project levy authorization during that time period is approximately $5,000,000. The additional revenue from the authorization will be used to provide funds for school district technology, including the acquisition, installation, replacement, support and maintenance of software, software licenses, computers, improved technology equipment, technology systems related to security and operations, and to pay the costs of technology related personnel and training.   The question on the approval of the capital project levy authorization for technology shall be School District Question 2 on the school district ballot at the special election held to approve said authorization.

3. The ballot questions specified above shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the School District at a special election, which is hereby called and directed to be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, between the hours of 7:00 o’clock a.m and 8:00 o’clock p.m.  This date is a uniform election date specified in Minnesota Statutes, Section 205A.05.

4. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 205A.11, the School District’s combined polling place and the precincts served by the combined polling place, as previously established and designated by a resolution of the School Board adopted October 17, 2022, for elections held in 2023, are hereby designated for this special election.  In the event a municipality located in whole or in part within the boundaries of the School District will also be conducting a municipal election on November 7, 2023, any affected School District voters will vote at their respective municipal polling locations and not the School District’s combined polling place.

5. The Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to cause written notice of said special election to be given to the county auditor of each county in which the School District is located, in whole or in part, and to the Commissioner of Education, at least seventy-four (74) days prior to the date of said election.  The notice shall specify the date of said special election and the title and language for the ballot questions to be voted on at said special election.  Any notice given prior to the date of the adoption of this resolution is ratified and confirmed in all respects.

6. The Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to cause notice of said special election to be posted for public inspection at the administrative offices of the School District at least ten (10) days before the date of said special election.

7. The Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to cause a sample ballot to be posted at the administrative offices of the School District at least four (4) days before the date of said special election and to cause two sample ballots to be posted in each combined polling place on election day.  The sample ballots shall not be printed on the same color paper as the official ballot.

8. The Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to cause notice of said special election to be published in the official newspaper of the School District, for two (2) consecutive weeks with the last publication being at least one (1) week before the date of said election.  The notice of election so posted and published shall state each question to be submitted to the voters as set forth in the form of ballot below, and shall include information concerning each established precinct and polling place.

9. The Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to cause the rules and instructions for use of the optical scan voting system to be posted in the combined polling places on election day.

10. The Clerk is authorized and directed to acquire and distribute such election materials as may be necessary for the proper conduct of this special election and generally to cooperate with election authorities conducting other elections on that date. The Clerk and members of the administration are authorized and directed to take such actions as may be necessary to coordinate this election with those other elections, including entering into agreements or understandings with appropriate officials regarding preparation and distribution of ballots, election administration and cost sharing.

11. The Clerk and the administration are further authorized and directed to cause a ballot to be prepared for use at said election in substantially the following form, with such changes in form, color, instructions, and content as may be necessary to accommodate an optical scan voting system or to comply with the form and content requirements of applicable state election laws:

12. Optical scan ballots must be printed in black ink on white material, except that marks to be read by the automatic tabulating equipment may be printed in another color ink.  The name of the precinct and machine-readable identification must be printed on each ballot.  Voting instructions must be printed at the top of the ballot on each side that includes ballot information.  The instructions must include an illustration of the proper mark to be used to indicate a vote.  Lines for initials of at least two election judges must be printed on one side of the ballot so that the judges’ initials are visible when the ballots are enclosed in a secrecy sleeve.

13. If the School District will be contracting to print the ballots for this special election, the Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to prepare instructions to the printer for layout of the ballot.  Before a contract in excess of $1,000 is awarded for printing ballots, the printer, at the request of the election official, shall furnish, in accordance with Minnesota Statutes, Section 204D.04, a sufficient bond, letter of credit or certified check acceptable to the Clerk in an amount not less than $1,000 conditioned on printing the ballots in conformity with the Minnesota election law and the instructions delivered.  The Clerk shall set the amount of the bond, letter of credit, or certified check in an amount equal to the value of the purchase.

14. The Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to provide for testing of the optical scan voting system within fourteen (14) days prior to the election date.  The Clerk shall cause notice of the time and place of the test to be given at least two (2) days in advance by publishing the Notice of Testing once in the official newspaper and by causing the notice to be posted in the office of the county auditor, the administrative offices of the School District, and the office of any other local election official conducting the test.

15. As required by Minnesota Statutes, Section 203B.121, the School Board hereby establishes a ballot board to process, accept and reject absentee ballots at School District elections not held in conjunction with the state primary or state general election or that are conducted by a municipality on behalf of the School District and generally to carry out the duties of a ballot board as provided by Section 203B.121 and other applicable laws.  The ballot board must consist of a sufficient number of election judges. The ballot board may include deputy county auditors and deputy city clerks who have received training in the processing and counting of absentee ballots.  The Clerk or the Clerk’s designee is hereby authorized and directed to appoint the members of the ballot board.  The Clerk or the Clerk’s designee shall establish, maintain and update a roster of members appointed to and currently serving on the ballot board and shall report to the School Board from time to time as to its status.  Each member of the ballot board shall be paid reasonable compensation for services rendered during an election at the same rate as other election judges; provided, however, if a staff member is already being compensated for regular duties, additional compensation shall not be paid for ballot board duties performed during that staff member’s duty day.  Each member of the ballot board must be provided adequate training on the processing and counting of absentee ballots, including but not limited to instruction on accepting and rejecting absentee ballots, storage of absentee ballots, timelines and deadlines, the role of the ballot board, procedures for opening absentee ballot envelopes, procedures for counting absentee ballots, and procedures for reporting absentee ballot totals.

16. If the capital project levy authorization proposed in School District Question 1 or School District Question 2 is approved, a capital project referendum account shall be created as a separate account in the general fund of the School District.  All proceeds from the capital project levy must be deposited in the capital project referendum account.  Interest income attributable to the capital project referendum account must be credited to the capital project referendum account.  Money in the capital project referendum account may be used only for the costs of acquisition and betterment of the approved projects.  As required by Minnesota Statutes, Section 123B.71, subdivision 8, the School Board hereby determines and states that the funds approved by the voters for said authorizations will only be used as authorized in Minnesota Statutes, Section 126C.10, subdivision 14. The funds in the capital project referendum account may be accumulated and not be expended until sufficient funds are available, may be accumulated and not be expended until additional funds from a bond issue are available, or may be expended on an ongoing basis for approved project costs.  Any funds remaining in the capital project referendum account that are not applied to the payment of the costs of the approved projects before their final completion shall be transferred to the School District’s debt redemption fund.

17. The Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to begin assembling names of trained election judges to serve at the combined polling place during the special election.  The election judges shall act as clerks of election, count the ballots cast and submit the results to the School Board for canvass in the manner provided for other School District elections.  The election must be canvassed between the third and the tenth day following the election.

18. The Clerk shall make all Campaign Financial Reports required to be filed with the School District under Minnesota Statutes, Section 211A.02 available on the School District’s website.  The Clerk must post the report on the School District’s website as soon as possible, but no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the receipt of the report.  The School District must make a report available on the School District’s website for four years from the date the report was posted to the website.  The Clerk must also provide the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board with a link to the section of the website where reports are made available.

The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by Lagred.

On a roll call vote, the following voted in favor: Barsness, T. Reichmann, Lagred, A. Reichmann, Holtberg, Zavadil, Ogdahl

and the following voted against: None

whereupon said resolution was declared duly passed and adopted.

STATE OF MINNESOTA )

) ss.

COUNTY OF POPE )

I, the undersigned, being the duly qualified and acting Clerk of Independent School District No. 2149 (Minnewaska Area Schools), State of Minnesota, hereby certify that the attached and foregoing is a full, true and correct transcript of the minutes of a meeting of the school board of said school district duly called and held on the date therein indicated, so far as such minutes relate to the calling of the special election of said school district, and that the resolution included therein is a full, true and correct copy of the original thereof.

WITNESS MY HAND officially as such clerk this 21st day of August, 2023.

Angie Reichmann

School District Clerk

Aug. 28