The election next week is set to be a big tug of war between the two major political parties. There’s one item on the ballot, however, that both Democrats and Republicans in Minnesota seem to agree on: support for the constitutional amendment concerning the permanent school fund. If the amendment is approved, school districts throughout the state of Minnesota will receive more money every school year from a special fund set up for their use. This means more money for schools and, in turn, more money for each student every school year. If not enough voters vote ‘yes’, however, the measure will fail to pass, as each vote on the measure left blank counts automatically as a ‘no’.
Concerned voters might well see the measure and ask: what’s the catch? Well, to be honest, there really isn’t one that I can find, hence the reason for the bipartisan support so rare in this day and age. But any well-reasoned voter wants to know what exactly they’re voting for, so let’s run through a brief to start.
The permanent school fund was set up for the exclusive purpose of helping fund education in the state of Minnesota. Money in the fund mostly comes from harvesting resources from land set aside specifically for this fund. Over the years, this fund has grown quite large to its current size of over $2.3 billion. Right now, the only money taken out of the fund is its yearly interest, which currently equates to about 3% to 3.5% of its total amount. The measure on the ballot would increase the amount of money taken out by school districts every year to around 4.5%, equivalent to just under $100 more per student, with adjustments down the line to reflect how the fund is doing. The goal of the measure is a balance that would keep allowing the fund to grow while also letting schools have access to a bit more of the very healthy nest egg’s money per year.
The logic behind it is simple: the money is meant for the schools; if schools need money and could take more from the fund without risking the fund’s health, why not raise the amount they take rather than let the funds sit and gather dust? To put it another way: with the fund healthy and gaining a generous amount of money yearly, the amount taken out can be recalculated to allow the school districts to take more out – without compromising the health of the fund. So, who came up with the new calculations for the permanent school fund?
Back in 2024, a nonpartisan task force was formed to evaluate the fund’s status. Their research concluded with a unanimous call to update the distribution formula to “better reflect modern investment management practices.”
Their proposal then gained wide bipartisan support in the legislature before being put on the ballot for this upcoming election. One important takeaway to note: the permanent school fund amendment would cause no change to taxes. The money would be taken from the fund that already exists, and the fund itself gains money from school trust land resources and passive yearly interest.
Many school districts nowadays are struggling to make ends meet, but unlike most states, Minnesota took the precaution of creating this fund, allowing it to be of help in hard times. Lake Superior School District is one such district that is pushing for the amendment’s passage, with Lake Superior School District Superintendent Gina Kleive and the District’s Business Manager Tanner Spawn going over statistics during several meetings these past months. They have been far from alone. Just during a recent campaign stop in Silver Bay, Minnesota Representative Roger Skraba encouraged voting for the amendment, noting, “It does not raise anybody’s taxes. That’s the beauty of this one.”
The permanent school fund’s history is deeply tied to Minnesota, having been established at the state’s founding in 1858. At the time, land throughout the state was set aside to supply the fund through timber, mining, and land revenue gathered from the parcels. The fund has increased in size dramatically over the past ten years, from around $30 million distributed throughout the state in 2017 to $64 million using the current distribution calculations. Lake Superior School District’s share has increased in turn, going roughly from $44,000 in 2017 to $86,000 in 2025, and most recently $93,000 in 2026. A press release from the district states that the amendment’s approval would provide an estimate of almost $42,000 in additional annual funding with current projections. This will be recalculated at regular intervals and distributed to districts based on student enrollment count.
The amendment’s supporters have been enthusiastic about educating residents on the details of the measure and the importance of having it passed. Kleive is hoping voters especially understand that staying neutral is not enough when only a ‘Yes’ vote will count. “For more than 165 years, the Permanent School Fund has represented Minnesota’s commitment to public education,” said Kleive. “Our responsibility is to make sure residents understand the history of the fund, what the proposed amendment would change, and what it could mean for students and schools in our communities.”
