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State Representative Sheldon Johnson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4201
For more information contact: Charlie Vander Aarde 651-297-8406
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JOHNSON APPLAUDS BIG PAY DAY FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOLS
(ST. PAUL) – School Trust Land payments were recently made to school districts across the state. Last month, a payment of $640,000 was made from the Permanent School Trust Fund to the St. Paul School District. A total of $23 million has been paid statewide this school year.
School Trust Lands play a valuable role in funding public education. The Permanent School Trust Fund sends money to schools without raising taxes. Representative Tim Mahoney (DFL-St. Paul) is hopeful to increase this important school funding source. “St. Paul Public Schools have received $1.25 million dollars this school year from the school trust lands," explained Rep. Mahoney. “Responsible management of these lands and the trust fund will lead to increased funding in the future. These payments go to the classroom and allow St. Paul schools to improve student achievement and learning.”
Representative Sheldon Johnson noted the timing of the payments. “With St. Paul Public Schools facing a tough budget picture, these payments will be put to immediate use helping the district fund essential programs,” said Rep. Johnson. “We need to fund quality teachers in the classroom and keep students involved in the programs that help them succeed in school and after graduation.”
For years, School Trust Lands were a well-kept secret. A 2008 law plugged a long-unnoticed leak in the Permanent School Trust Fund funneling interest earnings into the state’s General Fund rather than directly to school districts. New attention brought to the lands in the last few years has provided significant financial results for local school districts. Due to these payments, school districts are aware that School Trust Lands exist and generate dollars for every public school in the state. “The School Trust Lands exist to provide additional revenue to Minnesota’s schools,” explained State Representative Denise Dittrich (Champlin) who serves on the Permanent School Fund Advisory Committee.
Because of legislation passed in 2008 that will enhance oversight of the Permanent School Trust Fund, Minnesota school districts have received an additional $28 per student this school year. “Payments from the Permanent School Trust Fund to school districts are made in addition to the general education formula,” explained Dittrich.
Management of the School Trust Lands is a topic of much discussion at the State Legislature. More efficient and effective management of the lands can ensure the state is harnessing every dollar possible from the Trust Lands. “As trustees, legislators must maximize the asset that Minnesota’s school children own,” said Dittrich. “I take my trust obligation and fiduciary responsibility very seriously. Until 2008 this resource had been squandered for too long. Payments to the general fund rather than directly to schools demonstrate the need for stronger management and oversight of these resources.”
More than 2.5 million acres of land and an additional 1 million acres of mineral rights were set aside when Minnesota became a state. Today School Trust Lands are managed by the Minnesota DNR. Revenues earned from those lands are invested by the State Board of Investment and are constitutionally dedicated to be used for schools. Tens of millions of dollars earned on those lands are spent in classrooms every year, in every corner of Minnesota.
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