Voters Backed the Tech Levy. Here's What It Pays For.

Minneapolis voters approved Minneapolis Public Schools' technology capital project levy on Nov. 5, 2024, by a margin of 66% to 34%. The measure replaced an existing roughly $18 million-a-year capital levy that was set to expire with a new $38 million-a-year levy running for 10 years, beginning in 2025 — an increase of about $20 million annually.

Because it was a replacement rather than a wholly new tax, the choice on the ballot was effectively between renewing and enlarging the levy or letting it lapse and facing a funding cliff. The district said the measure would add about $8 a month, or $96 a year, to taxes on a $350,000 home.

The district says the money pays for purchasing, installing and maintaining technology systems, equipment, infrastructure, security and support staffing — the devices, software and networks classrooms now rely on. Officials had said the older levy did not cover all of the district's technology costs, forcing MPS to pull from its general fund; the larger levy frees those general-fund dollars for other operations.

Because the levy is tied to property values, homeowners in higher-value neighborhoods such as Lowry Hill pay a proportionally larger share than the same measure would draw from a lower-value part of the city. The technology levy does not close the district's broader budget gap, but it gives voters a rare line item they can trace to a specific purpose.