Lakeville Schools Could Get About $393,000 a Year From the Ballot Question You'll See Tuesday

TLDR

• Minnesota's Permanent School Fund amendment is on the Nov. 3 ballot statewide.
• Lakeville Area Schools estimates it would bring in about $393,000 a year.
• It's not a Lakeville levy, and it doesn't raise taxes.
• If you leave the question blank, it counts as a no.

At the Lakeville Area Schools State of the Schools talk (video posted Oct. 30), Superintendent Michael Baumann made one thing really clear. The school funding question on your ballot is not a Lakeville levy. Here's what it actually is and what it could mean for Lakeville schools.

What the Permanent School Fund Is

Minnesota set up the Permanent School Fund when it became a state. It's a trust fund (money held and invested for a specific purpose). It earns money from state school trust lands, like mining, timber and leases. KTTC reports it's worth about $2.3 billion today.

Every year, a slice of that fund goes out to school districts. Right now, the constitution limits that slice to the fund's interest and dividends. That works out to roughly 2.5% a year.

What the Amendment Would Change

The amendment would raise that payout to about 4.5% a year. KTTC says that would bring districts to roughly $101 per student, up about $33 from now. If it passes, the change would start July 1, 2027.

Here's how the question reads 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?"

For Lakeville, Baumann said the district calculates about $393,000 a year. That lines up with the per-student math for a district Lakeville's size. "No tax increase," he said, either in state taxes or property taxes.

What It's Not

Baumann repeated this one on purpose. "This is not an ISD 194 levy." A levy is a local property tax that voters in one district approve. Lakeville voters did that back in May with the $139.6 million middle school referendum. This is different. It's a statewide change to the constitution, and every district in Minnesota gets a share.

He also didn't tell anyone how to vote. "You can vote yes, you can vote no. That's entirely your choice."

The Catch: Blank Means No

This part trips people up. To change Minnesota's constitution, an amendment needs a "yes" from a majority of everyone who votes in the election. So if you vote for governor but skip this question, your ballot counts against it. Ballotpedia has more on how the measure got on the ballot.

We wrote up the same amendment from the District 196 angle in our school funding ballot question explainer if you want a second look.

The Bottom Line

The vote is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Read the question before you're in the booth, and make an actual choice either way. A skipped answer is a no. For Lakeville schools, a yes would mean about $393,000 a year, starting in the 2027-28 school year. Need your polling place? The Minnesota Secretary of State has a lookup tool. And for everything else happening locally, check our Lakeville city page.

Photo: Voting booths at a Minnesota polling place by Lorie Shaull, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.