Bemidji schools could gain $100,000 a year from fund change

Bemidji Area Schools could pick up about $100,000 a year if Minnesota voters approve a Permanent School Fund amendment on Nov. 3, a recurring boost that would not raise local taxes but would change how the state shares money already earned from school trust lands. In a district facing multimillion-dollar deficits, that amount is modest, but it would still mean real breathing room in classrooms and in the operating budget.

The proposal, HF 3900 and SF 3593, passed the Minnesota Legislature in May 2026 and will go to the 2026 general-election ballot. The House approved it 133-0 and the Senate followed 43-24. If voters say yes, the fund would distribute 4.5% of its three-year average net asset value beginning July 1, 2027, and the constitutional language would shift from treating the principal as “perpetual and inviolate” to preserving the fund’s purchasing power over time.

For Bemidji, the timing matters as much as the amount. District leaders revised the 2025-26 deficit projection to $2.7 million and have discussed a possible $3.5 million deficit for 2026-27. They have also weighed closing J.W. Smith Elementary, reducing staffing and shortening the school year by three days. Against that backdrop, an extra $100,000 a year would not solve the district’s structural problems, but it could help cover operating costs, support programming or keep maintenance items from being pushed off again.

Statewide, the amendment would affect more than one district. Supporters say the new formula would mean about $27.19 more per pupil, roughly a 28% increase in Permanent School Fund distributions. In the 2024-25 school year, the Minnesota Department of Education sent a record $58 million from the fund to 329 public school districts and 181 academies and charter schools, showing how widely the endowment already reaches across the state.

The Permanent School Fund dates to 1858, when Minnesota became a state and school trust lands were set aside to support public education. The original grants totaled nearly 8.1 million acres; today, about 2.5 million acres of school trust lands and 1 million acres of severed mineral rights remain. A legislative task force recommended the 4.5% payout after reviewing the fund’s performance, noting that it grew from about $675 million in 2010 to about $2.3 billion by fiscal year 2025 and had averaged about 8% annual investment returns over the past decade. That is the policy choice now facing voters: how much of a long-term endowment should be spent today, and how much should be preserved for the next generation.