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ROBBINSDALE, Minn. (WCCO) ― The fight is on to increase taxes to fund education and in the Robbinsdale School District, the battle is getting ugly.

"Vote NO" signs are popping up on lawns throughout the district.  A group called Citizens Acting for Responsible Education is urging voters to vote against a proposed $9.7 million operating levy. 

The group, which calls itself 281 Care, for short, has hired a proven winner to help defeat levy supporters. Paul Dorr, of Copperhead Consulting Services in Iowa, is leading the fight to defeat the referendum.

"They're using rather inflammatory language to describe things that they aren't really providing, I don't think, the facts," said Lynn Osterman, who is the committee co-chair for Vote Yes.  

Dorr and the 281 Care group refused to talk to WCCO-TV about their opposition.  Their signs say "Support the Kids, Oppose the Waste".

"I keep asking, 'Where's the waste,'" Robbinsdale superintendent Stan Mack said. "We have no waste in this district."

Mack said money for schools in the Robbinsdale district is so tight, if the referendum isn't passed, class sizes will grow and programs like the arts and extracurricular activities will be cut.

"I would prefer to not be asking taxpayers to do that, but morally and ethically it is the ultimate question to protect children," Mack said. 

Opponents are sick of seeing property taxes going up again, just seven years after the last levy was approved.

"If people have the facts, the big picture, they'll make an informed decision and it won't be in favor of what someone from Iowa is telling us to think about our local schools," Osterman said.

Of the 54 referendums Dorr has fought against, all but seven have failed. Even his opponents in the Robbinsdale district admit he knows what he is doing with his last-minute tactics.

The two sides have not yet talked. The Vote Yes group has arranged a forum for next week and has invited the 281 Care group.  There is no word yet as to whether a representative from the 281 Care group will attend, but Dorr will definitely not be attending.

Right now, the Robbinsdale district is in line with the state average when it comes to how much it spends per student.

It spends about $8,500 per student, which is the same as Osseo.  Edina spends about $8,200 on student and Anoka-Hennepin spends just over $8,000 per student.

http://wcco.com/education/referendum.robbinsdale.school.2.413147.html

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