Voters in Minnesota House District 52B head to the polls today for a special election. Depending upon the outcome of that election, voters in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District (District 196) may have to head to the polls another time in the near future, for one of the candidates running for the House 52B seat, Bianca Virnig (D), currently sits on the district’s school board.
If indeed there ends up being an open seat on the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School Board, then voters should be prepared with the hard cold facts of what’s happening in their schools.
For instance, did you know that the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District spends $19,900 per student?
That amount is obtained from their own numbers, as seen in the chart below. The district’s total FY 2023 Actual Expenditures come to $580,608,976, while its Average Daily Membership (ADM) is 29,176 students.
Let’s put that number in perspective. Consider Trinity School at River Ridge, a highly respected school located in Eagan, one of the three cities featured in this public school district. The highest tuition level at this private school is $18,200–nearly $2,000 less than is spent in the local public schools.
“Clearly, Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan schools must be providing a stellar education!” we can almost hear you say. Well, we’ll let the district’s numbers speak for themselves again. Behold the academic proficiency levels for the last five years in the district:
Let’s just say that “stellar” is not the word that comes to mind.
Put differently, if Virnig wins the special election for House District 52B, it looks like her school board replacement will have have his work cut out for him.
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Image Credit: YouTube-District 196 TV
