Ballot question boosts school funding without raising taxes

Voters urged not to leave question blank

SLEEPY EYE -- With early voting beginning today (Friday) at the Brown County Courthouse Auditor-Treasurer’s Office, Sleepy Eye Public School Superintendent John Cselovszki stressed the importance of voting for the Minnesota Permanent School Trust Fund Constitutional Amendment to the school board Wednesday.

“Leaving the ballot question blank is counted as a “No” vote,” he said.

The ballot question asks to amend the Minnesota Constitution to increase funding for all school districts from the permanent school fund, which supports school districts without raising individual income or property taxes effective July 1.

Cselovszki said if the ballot question is approved, the Sleepy Eye school district would receive about $20,000 a year in added funding. New Ulm Public School Superintendent Sean Koster said ballot question approval would add about $67,000 in additional annual revenue to the school district.

Future fund distributions depend on funding market value and student enrollment.

Passed in a strong bipartisan effort by the 2026 Minnesota Legislature the November 2026 constitutional amendment would modernize how the existing $2.3 billion Permanent School Trust Fund is distributed by nearly doubling the annual distribution percentage from 2 to 2.5% to 4.5% annually, increasing per pupil annual distribution by an estimated $33 per student.

The amendment will not raise existing taxes. 

The Permanent School Fund established in 1858 is a permanent endowment from the sale of public lands set aside to support public education. 

In the late 1800s, much of the land in southern Minnesota was sold to private interests to promote development and agriculture. Today, more than 2.5 million acres plus one million acres used for mineral rights remain. Revenues from timber sales, mining, land leases and other resource activities contribute to the fund.

In other board news, Cselovszki told the school board Wednesday that an Anonymous School Threat Reporting Mandate requires all public school districts and charter schools to maintain a reporting system in fiscal year 2028. Reporting systems will be accessible 24 hours a day via a mobile app, website and toll-free hotline. 

The new law will appropriate $4 million in Fiscal Year 2027 for grants to schools for the development, purchase, implementation, operation and maintenance of systems. It will also appropriate $1 million in Fiscal Year 2027 to the Department of Public Safety and Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for staffing and operating costs related to threat assessment and investigations.

In addition, the law will provide $10 million statewide in additional compensatory education revenue for fiscal year 2027 for school buildings scheduled to receive less compensatory circumstances revenue in fiscal year 2027 than in 2026. It will also adjust general education aid from fiscal year 2027 and 2028.

The school board unanimously approved hiring Kylie Koerner as varsity girls basketball coach and Trent Weiderding as varsity softball coach. Action came on a motion by Casey Coulson, seconded by Joleen Dittbenner.