by Imann Hodleh, staff writer

This November, voters of the Hopkins School District will have to decide whether or not to pass two referendums on the operating levy and the capital projects levy. These levies, if passed, will impact the HHS community by exceeding the expectations of technology in the building.

In 2010, two referendum proposals on a capital projects levy for curriculum and a capital bond for safety and security improvements were passed. The capital bond hoped to raise $3 million to redesign school entrances such as the one designed here in HHS. Also, it was hoped to increase safety in several parking lots by taking the initiative to improve its traffic flow. The capital projects levy was hoped to raise approximately $6.5 million every year for 10 years in order to fund curriculum such as new textbooks and technology as well as necessary classroom equipment.

With the current levy in place expiring in 2015-2016, the two levy’s at hand, if passed, would be in place for the next 10 years funding for technology upgrades, kitchen improvements, and modern security.

The operating levy would replace the current one, increasing the income amount for each student by $418.23. In addition to the operating levy, the capital projects levy will make around $1.75 million per year for 10 years at a tax rate of approximately 1.88 percent, according to district officials.

In regards to the HHS student body, if these two levies were to pass it could possibly result in improvements in the kitchen. It could also fund modern technology to further improve a student’s literacy regarding a modern day classroom such as Faces of Conflict, which utilizes Chromebooks in their curriculum.

The capital projects levy would add onto the media services department, providing 21st century technology based resources to meet the needs of every student, staff member, and parent. This would enhance communication between the school and home, overall helping the Hopkins community prosper in the future.

“I’m definitely in support of the capital projects levy. I get excited when our community gets behind the schools and supports the schools with additional dollars because that allows me to use those resources to offer staff development for our teachers to help them be more creative and effective with digital hardware,” said Terri Osland, Technology Integration Specialist.

If the operating levy passes it plans to support curriculum and will maintain the Hopkins public schools’ programs and services. The public schools programs capital projects levy plans to fund school safety and security updates, kitchen improvements and classroom based technology upgrades.

“An invisible change that’ll be made has a lot to do with the infrastructure to maintain a strong digital environment, it has to be top notch to support the activities of our learning population during the school day when we have the greatest amount of traffic to and from the internet. That’d be an invisible plus for our technology because we don’t think about it we just expect it,” Osland said.