Members of the Richfield City Council and staff, left, and the Richfield School Board met to discuss common issues and concerns Monday night.

The Richfield City Council and the Richfield School Board met Monday night in a special study session that focused on financial, health and public safety issues.

November Referendum
School Superintendent Robert Slotterback told the group the schools are "98 percent sure we're going to a referendum" this November to renew operating tax levies. He said the district is still working on how much to ask of voters, but said a phone survey showed strong support for renewing the current levies. Even with a levy approval, the district would still face budget cuts because revenue is not keeping up with expenses. "The amount we'd have to ask for no cuts, we may not have the public support for that," he said.

Teen Pregnancy
Mayor Debbie Goettel handed out materials that show the teen pregnancy rate in Richfield is twice the rate of the rest of Minnesota (63.9 per 1,000 females in 2008 versus 27.2 statewide). A "Reducing the Risk" program was started at Richfield High School to address the problem, introducing a special curriculum in three 9th grade honors biology classes and nine 10th grade biology classes during the second semster of the 2008-2009 school year. While an evaluation of the program were unable to conclusively attribute postive outcomes to the program, students did learn and retain information about sex and reproductive health.

Finances
City financial projections show Richfield expects to see total revenue increase about $400,000 a year until 2015 with decreasing tax levies until 2014. The projections assume the Minnesota Legislature will provide $500,000 in local government aid in those years, though Mayor Goettel said the council is trying to ease the city off its dependence on state aid. Superintendent Slotterback and City Manager Steve Devich both said they'd be working together to see if they can find ways to work together to save money on such things as technology and purchasing.

Public Health
The city's Jim Topitzhofer and the school's Michael Schwartz presented information to the group about SHIP, the Statewide Health Improvement Program, in which Richfield and several neighboring suburbs are taking part. They listed several changes the city has accomplished with the help of a $1.6 million state grant to Bloomington, Edina and Richfield, including:
- The new satellite farmers market in Roosevelt Park
- The city's new tobacco-free-parks ordinance
- Development of a master bike plan for the Richfield.