As superintendents of the Menahga and Sebeka school districts, we spend a great deal of time thinking about how we can provide the best possible education for our students while also being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars. This November, Minnesotans will have an opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment involving one of our state’s oldest resources for supporting public education: the Permanent School Fund.
The Permanent School Fund has been supporting Minnesota schools since statehood. It is built largely from lands that were set aside generations ago for the benefit of public education, along with the investments and revenues generated from those assets.
The fund itself is intended to last forever. What is being proposed does not change that fundamental responsibility. Instead, the amendment would modernize the way annual distributions from the fund are calculated while requiring that the fund continue to be managed as a perpetual resource for both today’s students and future generations.
If approved by voters, Minnesota would distribute 4.5% of the fund’s three-year average value annually to schools. This approach is similar to the way many long-term endowments are managed because it provides a predictable annual distribution while seeking to preserve the purchasing power of the fund over time.
One of the most important things for taxpayers to understand is that this proposal does not create a new individual income tax or local property tax. Instead, it changes how an existing public education trust fund distributes resources to Minnesota schools.
It is also important to recognize the strong bipartisan support this proposal received at the Legislature. When the Minnesota House initially passed the legislation in May, the vote was 133–0. After the House and Senate reached agreement on the final legislation, the House again approved it unanimously, this time on a 134–0 vote.
At a time when many issues divide Republicans and Democrats, the Permanent School Fund proposal brought legislators from both parties together. The legislation was led in the House by Republican Rep. Spencer Igo and in the Senate by DFL Sen. Mary Kunesh. Legislators from across the political spectrum supported putting the question before Minnesota voters.
For school districts like Menahga and Sebeka, Permanent School Fund revenue matters. Rural schools face many of the same increasing costs as larger districts while operating with fewer students over which to spread those costs. Transportation, utilities, insurance, special education, technology, staffing and other necessities continue to become more expensive.
Additional funding from an existing state resource can help schools address those pressures without asking local property taxpayers to carry the entire burden.
There is also an important long-term principle behind this proposal. The Permanent School Fund belongs not just to today’s students, but to generations of Minnesota students who will follow them. Any change must protect that legacy. The amendment specifically calls for the fund to be managed in a way that provides annual distributions while preserving its purchasing power and balancing the needs of current and future students.
This November, Minnesota voters will make the final decision.
We encourage residents to learn about the Permanent School Fund, understand what the proposed constitutional amendment would do, and participate in the election. Regardless of political affiliation, we believe there is tremendous value in having an informed conversation about how Minnesota can responsibly use the resources entrusted to us generations ago to support the students sitting in our classrooms today and those who will sit in them decades from now.
Our communities have always understood that strong schools and strong communities go hand in hand. The Permanent School Fund was created with that same long-term vision. Our responsibility today is to make sure Minnesotans understand the choice before them and the long-term role this fund plays in supporting public education.
Jay Kjos
Superintendent
Menahga Public Schools
Dave Kerkvliet
Superintendent
Sebeka Public Schools