<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2vuPHc_1Gofozcy00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2vuPHc_1Gofozcy00" width="1200" height="600" >ELY, Minn. (Northern News Now) - Voters in Duluth and Ely passed school operating referendums Tuesday, bringing additional funding to both districts. However, district leaders said they still need help from the Legislature to balance their budgets.Duluth Public Schools and Ely Public Schools celebrated the results, but the work to balance their budgets is not over.In Ely, the referendum’s passage also unlocks additional state funding from a new state law authored by Sen. Grant Hauschild. The law directs taxes on seasonal properties, such as cabins, back into those communities.“The general formula allowance from the state has not kept up with inflation for decades, and so there’s a huge gap in that funding that is just going to be challenging for all of our districts,” Ely Superintendent Anne Oelke said.Oelke said the district will not have to make cuts for now. Duluth Public Schools however, still faces a $5 million deficit.Meantime, a referendum failed in the St. Louis County School District, which means the district faces further budget cuts.Superintendent Brian Masterson said the district would like the new legislature to help fully fund areas such as special education.He and other district leaders criticized the challenges of unfunded mandates, a number of which were passed under a DFL trifecta in 2023.“We want you to implement new programs or a new curriculum, and we want you to do it in a certain way, but then there’s not dollars to support that. It really snowballs for districts, and we’re left scrambling. How are we going to fund this?” Oelke said.Oelke hopes the incoming Legislature, which again will be a DFL trifecta, will include the proper financial resources for any future mandates.Minnesota Rep. Spencer Igo, a Republican who represents District 7A, is returning to the Capitol after winning his race Tuesday. Igo co-authored the permanent school fund constitutional amendment change. He said its passage shows that lawmakers are working to benefit schools.“Minnesotans came together and supported education for the kids today and tomorrow, and I think it’s an amazing moment where we can hang our hats and say we can work together and accomplish great things in a nonpartisan way,” Igo said.Minnesotans passed the constitutional amendment with more than 70% of the vote. It increases the state funding formula by $33 per pupil each year for every district.The money would come from the permanent school fund, a trust that earns revenue from state trust lands, without using tax dollars.</div></body>

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ELY, Minn. (Northern News Now) - Voters in Duluth and Ely passed school operating referendums Tuesday, bringing additional funding to both districts. However, district leaders said they still need help from the Legislature to balance their budgets. Duluth Public Schools and Ely Public Schools celebrated the results, but the work...

Duluth, Ely school referendums pass as districts seek legislative help

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ELY, Minn. (Northern News Now) - Voters in Duluth and Ely passed school operating referendums Tuesday, bringing additional funding to both districts. Howev

Duluth, Ely school referendums pass as districts seek legislative help

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