A Constitutional Amendment is on November’s ballot. It reads:
“Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to increase the funding going to all school districts from the permanent school fund, which is a fund that supports school districts
without raising individual income or property taxes, effective July 1, 2027?”
To accept the change, vote Yes.
If you skip that question and leave it blank, it counts as a No vote.
Below is background information, excerpted from a conversation that DFL chair Richard Carlbom held with Minnesota State Senator Mary Kunesh. Mary has served for 9 years in the State Senate; for 25 years before that, she worked in the public education system.
Mary: “I am so excited to talk about this constitutional amendment. I have been working on this for 9 years. What I love is that this was a very bipartisan bill. We began by forming a task force to look at the school trust fund. We wanted to know: Are we getting the best from it? And can we get out more? The Fund was established at statehood in 1858 and we have never changed the funding formula. Currently, we can distribute 2.5% of the fund annually based on the interest and dividends received from the fund. In the last 10 years the fund has grown from $674 million to approximately $2.3 billion. Our plan is to be able to take out money based not just on interest and dividend, but also from capital gains – increasing the rate to distributions up to 4.5%. The average annual contribution per student is currently $67 a year. We need to change the State Constitution to increase that. We are setting strong guardrails in place so that the legislature can’t borrow from the school fund or take money from it. We will be looking at the three year average before we increase the payout to 4.5% of the fund and we will have the ability to bring the payout up or down if investment returns change. A bipartisan team discussed this with finance experts to come up with the change.
Richard: “What does this amendment actually do for our school districts?”
Mary: It will increase the amount paid out annually per pupil. Currently the annual payout is $68 per pupil. If we pass this amendment, the payout would be $101 per pupil. For a large district like Anoka-Hennepin, this would add up to $1.242 million. For Minneapolis, it would be about $948,000. For a small district like Aitkin, it would be about $32,500, which still makes a difference. That could be used to get a part-time Spanish teacher, or fill potholes in the parking lot, or provide transportation to more students. This is an annual payout
amount split into two payments per year. One benefit for school districts is its reliability. Districts can plan on this and add a Library media specialist or other additions to staff.
Richard: “This payout is set in the State Constitution, that is why we are going to voters to change it. What are some common misunderstandings you can help clear up today?
Mary: “There are unfounded concerns that we will be draining the fund. The bill includes strong language to keep us from depleting the corpus of the fund. Some people claim that all the money will go to teachers or that schools don’t use their money well.
This bipartisan bill passed by 100% in the House. In the Senate, two dozen senators flaked off because they wanted to amend the bill. Losing their amendment to the bill resulted in some bruised egos. Fortunately, the bill’s authors convinced their pals to vote for it. The school trust fund is sacred at the legislature. Now is the time to make the change. Unfortunately, this was not endorsed by the Republican party, so we need to step up and pass it.
Richard: “Is there one sentence we could use to explain this at the doors?”
Mary: “This change provides reliable funding from already existing dollars and does not raise income or property taxes.
Go to voteyesmnstudents.org to read more about this ballot question and what it does, including an estimate of the benefit to each school district.