Bloomington Public Schools' leaders have spent the last stretch before Election Day explaining one item on the ballot. The statewide constitutional amendment would change how the Permanent School Fund pays out to every public school district in Minnesota, Bloomington included. Superintendent Dr. Eric Melbye walked the school board through it Oct. 26. Board Chair Tom Bennett made the same case in a column published Oct. 22.
The fund was created in 1858 when Minnesota became a state. Melbye said it was worth $675 million in 2010 and is worth more than $2.3 billion today. Right now the payout is interest and dividends, about 2.5% a year.
The amendment would change that formula. Schools would get 4.5% of the fund's average market value over the previous 3 years, so they'd share in the fund's overall market growth. Bennett wrote that the district estimates Bloomington would get about $300,000 more a year. The amendment doesn't create a tax or raise property, income or sales taxes. That money would land in a district with real money worries of its own.
Bennett wrote that the idea came from a nonpartisan legislative task force that studied the issue for more than a year and recommended the change unanimously. DFL Sen. Mary Kunesh and Republican Rep. Spencer Igo carried it in their chambers. The House passed it unanimously, but the Senate vote was closer at 43-24. Republican Sen. Zach Duckworth said he wanted more safeguards and called the change financially unhealthy for the fund over the long run. Mining and logging help fill the fund, and some critics worry a bigger payout could encourage more of both. Supporters say they don't expect any changes to how the land is used.
The district has been spreading the word since summer. In August the board listed educating the community on the amendment as one of its goals. Members heard an overview Sept. 28, a month before Melbye's Oct. 26 presentation, and the district has posted a short explainer video on X.
Bloomington Public Schools@bps271In the Nov. 3 election, Minnesota voters will consider a constitutional amendment to modernize how money from the Minnesota Permanent School fund is distributed to public school districts. Watch the video or visit https://t.co/Pbi4fKZNZW to learn more.10d ago
This is the exact question on your ballot: "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?" If it passes, the new formula starts on that date. There's a catch. A constitutional amendment needs a yes from a majority of everyone who votes in the election, not just a majority of the people who answer the question. That's why a blank counts as a no.
The board's Oct. 26 meeting covered more than the ballot. Members approved a second American Sign Language interpreting vendor, ASL Interpreting Services, Inc., under a contract that runs through June 30, 2027. Andy Kubas, the district's executive director of learning and teaching, said demand for ASL interpreting has outgrown what the current vendor can handle. The new contract adds to that existing one rather than replacing it.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. The board also reworked its own calendar. Members voted to replace the Dec. 14 study session with a 7 p.m. business meeting, right after a 6 p.m. listening session. They also canceled the Dec. 28 business meeting because of winter break.
From the meeting: School Board Meeting, October 26, 2026.
