MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Minnesota Voters Will Decide Constitutional Amendment Changing School-Fund Distributions

ST. PAUL, MN (October 2, 2026). Minnesota voters will encounter a statewide constitutional question on their November ballots that could change how money from the state's Permanent School Fund is managed and distributed to public school districts.

The November ballot asks whether Minnesota should change management of the Permanent School Fund and increase annual distributions to public school districts beginning in 2027.

It is the only proposed amendment to the Minnesota Constitution appearing on the statewide ballot in 2026.

The ballot asks whether the Constitution should be amended to increase funding distributed to all school districts from the Permanent School Fund, with the change taking effect July 1, 2027.

The fund traces its assets largely to lands granted for the benefit of public schools and the proceeds generated from those lands and investments.

Under the legislation placing the question before voters, annual distributions could increase to as much as 4.5 percent of the fund's three-year average value. Minnesota House information says the change would increase the amount available for distribution compared with the existing structure.

The proposed constitutional language also directs that the fund be managed as a perpetual financial resource, balancing annual distributions to current school districts with preservation of the fund's purchasing power for future beneficiaries.

The question was placed on the ballot through legislation passed during the 2026 legislative session.

The Minnesota Secretary of State's Office lists the ballot question as:

“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?”

Minnesota's rules for constitutional amendments differ from ordinary candidate elections in an important way.

A proposed amendment must receive approval from a majority of all voters participating in the election, not merely a majority of people who mark that particular question. Consequently, leaving the constitutional-amendment question blank has the same practical effect as voting against it.

If voters approve the amendment, the related statutory changes would take effect July 1, 2027, for school aid payable in fiscal year 2028.

If voters reject it, the constitutional change will not take effect.

The amendment appears on Minnesota's November 3 general-election ballot.

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