Minnesota Amendment 1 and the permanent school fund
A statewide constitutional amendment on the same ballot. It is not a property tax and is separate from the ISD 728 question.
Amendment 1 would change how the state's permanent school fund pays out to schools. A companion law would set the annual payout at 4.5% of the fund's value starting July 1, 2027, if voters approve it.
What does Amendment 1 do?
It replaces the constitution’s rule that only the fund’s net interest and dividends go to schools with a rule that the fund be managed to make annual distributions while preserving its purchasing power.
Today the constitution says “the net interest and dividends arising from the fund shall be distributed to the different school districts of the state,” and that the principal is “perpetual and inviolate forever.”Minnesota Revisor of Statutes
As amended, the fund would be “managed as a perpetual financial resource” designed “to provide annual distributions while preserving the purchasing power of the fund over time and balancing the needs of current and future beneficiaries.” Reasonable administrative costs could be paid from the fund, and “the distribution policy shall be prescribed by law.”Minnesota Revisor of Statutes
The ballot question, word for word
“Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to increase the funding going to all school districts from the permanent school fund, which is a fund that supports school districts without raising individual income or property taxes, effective July 1, 2027?”Laws 2026, ch. 114
The Legislature proposed the amendment in Laws 2026, chapter 114 (H.F. 3900). The governor signed it May 26, 2026. Constitutional amendments go to voters regardless of a signature.
Where do 2.5% and 4.5% come from?
The 4.5% is in the companion statute. The 2.5% is supporters’ description of today’s payout, not a number in current law.
Chapter 114 also amends Minn. Stat. § 11A.16 so that the amount distributed each year “shall equal 4.5 percent of the average net asset value of the permanent school fund as of the end of the preceding three fiscal years.” That change takes effect July 1, 2027, for aid payable in fiscal year 2028, only if voters adopt the amendment.Minnesota Revisor of Statutes
Because the rate is in statute rather than the constitution, a future Legislature could change it within the new constitutional standard.Minnesota Revisor of Statutes
The Minnesota School Boards Association and allied groups, which support the amendment, describe the current payout as a “2-2.5% annual distribution.”Minnesota School Boards Association with AMSD, MASA, and MREA
How much money is involved?
The district estimates ISD 728 would receive about $391,000 more a year, which it calls less than a 1% increase to its 2026-27 budget.
The district's figure is $391,484.79, using “an assumption of $96 of full-year earnings in the formula.”ISD 728
The supporting groups say the fund grew from $675 million in 2010 to $2.3 billion in 2025, that the current payout averages about $68 per pupil, and that it would be about $81 per pupil under the amendment. Actual distributions would depend on the fund's performance.Minnesota School Boards Association with AMSD, MASA, and MREAISD 728
Distributions go to every public school district, charter school, and tribal school on a per-pupil basis.ISD 728Minnesota Revisor of Statutes
What happens if I skip it?
Skipping the question has the same effect as voting no.
A constitutional amendment is ratified only if a majority of all voters who cast a ballot in the election vote yes. A ballot left blank on the question counts toward that total but not toward yes.Minnesota Revisor of Statutes
How does it relate to the ISD 728 question?
It does not change the ISD 728 question, its bonds, or its levy. The two questions are decided separately.
The amendment changes a statewide trust fund's payout. The ISD 728 question authorizes local property taxes. Either can pass or fail without affecting the other.Minnesota Revisor of StatutesISD 728 School Board