BLUE EARTH - Blue Earth Area Schools is hosting meetings to explain what the district is asking in its Nov. 3 excess levy referendum.

Most meetings so far have been for staff and community service groups, but larger community meetings are coming soon.

Upcoming meetings are: 7 p.m. Monday at Winnebago Municipal Center; noon Tuesday at Blue Earth Kiwanis, Hamilton Hall; 7 p.m. Wednesday at Blue Earth Area High School performing arts center; 11:30 a.m. Thursday at Senior Citizen's Center in Blue Earth; 7 p.m. Thursday at Frost Community Center; and 7 p.m. Friday at YSI in Elmore.

Superintendent Dale Brandsoy said the levy should cost taxpayers the same amount as the last excess levy. The school board is asking for the same amount per pupil - $650 - and for the same renewal period - five years.

"There should not be a change," Brandsoy said. "(The referendum) will be for keeping programs as we have - keeping our facilities up, smaller class sizes. ... We have three buildings right now, and the general public wants to keep it that way."

One big question surfacing at the informational meetings is how the levy will affect farmers. Brandsoy said it will not be tabulated based on farmland. It's one house and 1 acre, he said.

Referendum consulting firm Springsted listed excess levies in the area in a flyer: Fairmont is at $500 per pupil, Granada-Huntley-East Chain $1,658 and Martin County West $700. The state average is $849.

Brandsoy said the referendum needs to pass because of a reduction in revenues related to declining enrollment, declining interest earnings, lack of new funding from the state and tax shifts. The district also is seeing higher costs for heating, property insurance, health insurance and special education.

If the referendum doesn't pass, the district will face an additional loss of revenue of $900,000.

"The board and administration would have to sit down and look at what we have to do to compensate for that," Brandsoy said. "The board has not done that yet. Hopefully we won't have to do that."