GLENVILLE — Glenville-Emmons school district will once again ask voters to head to the polls this November for a levy the superintendent said would give the district “some breathing room.”

“We have gotten very good at getting by with very little,” Glenville-Emmons Superintendent Brian Shanks said.

Shanks took over from former Glenville-Emmons Superintendent Jerry Reshetar this year, when Alden-Conger Public School District — where Shanks was superintendent — and Glenville Emmons Public Schools agreed to share the position.

The ballot will ask the voters for two yes votes: one to revoke and replace the existing referendum of $1,377.06 per pupil with the same amount, and one to add $402.44 per pupil to that operating revenue, both applicable for 10 years and subject to an annual increase at the rate of inflation.

The first vote is intended to sync the timeline of the two, Shanks said. The district’s current referendum has one year left and therefore would not run on the same schedule.

The state sets limits on referendum allowances, and Glenville-Emmons Public Schools’ current operating levy is not at its maximum, Shanks said. The additional $402.44 per pupil, if approved, would hit that referendum ceiling.

But Shanks said it was hard to say for what that additional money would specifically be used. He said the district has a number of plans, which could include increasing curriculum offerings, updating curriculum or revisiting projects put off due to lack of funds.

It is easier to say what it will not be used for: building.

He uses a mnemonic device to help people remember: B — bond — is for building. L — levy — is for learning. The November vote is a levy referendum.

The vote will come one year after another levy attempt for Glenville-Emmons that failed when the district asked voters for an additional $358 per pupil operating levy that the was turned down with a 56.23% vote no.

Shanks attributed that vote to some confusion on what the last referendum was for. The district will host two information meetings with the intention to share information about the November vote.

“The biggest thing that I’ve been asked to do is to get accurate information and numbers to the communities to make sure that they’re aware,” Shanks said.

School district residents can also use a tax calculator found on the district’s website to calculate an estimated tax impact from the second ballot question. Revoking and reinstating the current referendum revenue will not affect taxes, Shanks said.

According to the tax calculator, which uses information provided by Freeborn County, adding $402.44 per pupil to the referendum would add between $50 to $55 annually in taxes on a Glenville property worth approximately $70,000.

The tax calculator uses 2018 property assessment values. Many property values did increase in the 2019 assessments.

The first informational meeting is 6 p.m. Oct. 9 at Emmons Lutheran Church. The second is 6 p.m. Oct. 15 in the Glenville-Emmons Elementary School cafeteria.

The vote is Nov. 5.