Trending
MARSHALL -- On the Nov. 3 ballot, Minnesotans will be asked to make a decision that will affect school funding across the state.
A ballot question will ask if the Minnesota Constitution should be changed to increase the amount of funding going to school districts from the state's permanent school fund.
If the constitutional amendment passes, it would result in additional funding of about $33 per student, Marshall Public Schools Superintendent Jeremy Williams said this week.
"We want people to be informed and understand what it really is and what it means for schools," Williams said of the proposed amendment.
He said so far, the district hasn't gotten many questions from the public about the proposal.
MPS officials shared some information about the proposed amendment with a short video at their Sept. 21 meeting. Williams and Marshall School Board treasurer Sara Brink met with the Independent on Wednesday to talk about the amendment in more depth.
"The state set up a permanent school trust (fund) when the state was founded, and the idea was, it produces ongoing funding for public schools," Williams said.
The state of Minnesota owns public lands that generate revenue from timber, mining and land leases. Funds distributed to school districts come only from the interest and dividends earned by the trust.
In the 1990s, Minnesota made some changes to how the permanent school funds were invested, Williams and Brink said.
"In the 90s there was an amendment that Minnesota voted on, and they made it so a portion of the trust could be invested in stocks," Brink said. "From that point forward, from the 90s to now, the fund has grown. It's over $2.3 billion."
However, the formula used for distributing permanent school fund dollars to school districts has not changed, Williams said.
"It's a huge amount sitting there," he said. "The law only allows it to be given to schools, but it also restricts what percentage of the dividends can be distributed to schools."
Currently, only about 2.5% of the fund's value is distributed to schools each year. The proposed constitutional amendment would instead allow distribution of about 4.5% of the trust's total value, Brink said.
"And then what they do is a rolling three-year average, so that way if there is a downturn in the stock market, they'll have that three-year average. So that way, they're not depleting the principal of that account," she said.
Williams said the amendment, if approved, would not have a tax impact for the public.
If the proposed new distribution formula was applied to MPS last year, it would have meant an additional $80,000 for the district, Williams said.
"So it's not a huge amount, but it certainly is helpful," he said.
The funding distribution is made on a per-student basis.
Williams and Brink said the proposed school amendment has received bipartisan support from the Minnesota Legislature.
In order to pass, the proposed constitutional amendment will need to be approved by a majority of everyone who votes in the election. Leaving the question blank on the ballot counts as a "no" vote.
Williams said the MPS School Board will be discussing the proposed amendment at its next couple of meetings, as a way to help inform the public.
"Our job is to inform. We can't tell people how to vote, but we can certainly get the information out there," Brink said.
Williams said more information on the proposed constitutional amendment is available online, at www.mnpsfamendment.org.