Minnesota voters approve permanent school fund amendment
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A majority of voters on Tuesday approved an amendment to the state constitution that will increase funding for schools without raising taxes.
“Minnesotans took to heart the request to increase dollars from this trust fund to the students, recognizing that every little bit is going to make a difference in our schools,” said Sen. Mary Kunesh, DFL-New Brighton.
The permanent school fund relies on timber and mining lease revenue from trust land that is invested by the state and then distributed to school districts.
Until now, schools only received about 2.5 percent of the fund’s value. But the amendment will now make it possible for schools to receive 4.5 percent without increasing anyone’s taxes.
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This will mean an extra $33 per student for schools.
The changes take effect July 1, 2027.
“It is nothing to sneeze at,” said Duluth Superintendent John Magas.
His district will gain $280,000 from the fund. The Minneapolis school district will gain nearly $1 million in extra money from the change.
Kunesh has spent years working to change how the fund distributes money She sees it as a way to generate additional money for students while preserving the core of the fund for the future.
“This is going to be a stable source of income for schools,” Kunesh said. “We have the ability to adjust it if the fund is not doing well…we are…using our fiduciary responsibility as legislators to use those dollars in the best way to fund public education.”
Kunesh points out that, unlike some other forms of state funding, the increase in revenue from the fund can be used however districts want, whether it’s to hire more staff, cover higher diesel fuel costs or fix potholes in the school parking lot.
“They can make long-term plans how to use those dollars, or they can use it for short-term fixes,” Kunesh said. “There are no strings attached to this money. The school districts can use these dollars as they best choose.”
Kunesh said, in trying to understand the fund and how best to use it, she also reached out to Minnesota tribal leaders since much of Minnesota’s trust lands are located on reservations. But the state’s four Bureau of Indian Education schools don’t receive income from the fund.
“This is just a little bit tricky,” Kunesh said, adding that she’d considered a proposal that would change the way BIE schools are funded, but instead decided to “just do one thing at a time here.”
Kunesh believes there could also be political support to increase BIE funding in a corresponding amount through the general fund. She’s checked in with Minnesota tribal leaders about the plan and said they’ve given their approval.
“I did get letters of support back,” Kunesh said. “They realize that this is really kind of a work in progress.”
