Board of Education Legislative Priorities for 2026

The most serious area of concern for CHPS is the recent change in the way Compensatory Aid is calculated. Compensatory aid for fiscal year 2027 will be calculated based solely on direct certification. Previously, compensatory aid was calculated using a combination of direct certification and the education benefits forms (commonly known as lunch forms). Based on our CHPS calculations, relying solely on direct certification would result in a shortfall of about $ 3.6 million. Without exaggeration, this would be catastrophic for us. CHPS will be big losers under this formula, not because our families are suddenly wealthier, but simply because of the data collection method. This will effectively leave us without enough cash on hand to pay our employees, and therefore, we will need to borrow funds and pay interest. Not a finance practice we want to engage in- it’s not how we manage taxpayer dollars. From 2015 to 2024, we have made cuts every year. Our district has already cut everything we can; we are at the barebones. 

We believe that the intent of changing the way this funding is calculated was to make the process more efficient for districts, but relying solely on direct certification would be incredibly detrimental. We urge the Minnesota Legislature to enact a hold harmless mechanism until the Legislative Task Force on Compensatory Revenue publishes its final recommendations in October of 2026, well after the end of this Legislative session. 

 

The Blue Ribbon Commission on Special Education is established by the legislature to find $250 million in savings in FY28-29, or commensurate reductions will be made in special education cross-subsidy aid. This aid provides CHPS with over $2.5 million. Current conversations have ADSIS at the top of the list to cut, which would cut funding partially paying for 5 Reading/Math interventionists at the elementary level.  

The state’s underfunded special education formula requires districts to subsidize these costs from general education budgets, which can divert resources from all students and disproportionately affect schools with high special education needs. CHPS's current Special Education Cross Subsidy is $5.8 million. Additionally, the $250 million reduction in cross-subsidy aid budgeted in FY27 will deepen this inequity and further strain district budgets already struggling to meet mandated costs.

The legislature should repeal this $250 million reduction and focus on a plan for full funding of special education in the future.

 

Over the past two decades, inflation has significantly eroded the purchasing power of Minnesota school districts across core funding streams - General Education, Local Optional Revenue (LOR), Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue (LTFMR), and Operating Capital. These formulas have remained largely stagnant while costs have risen, leaving schools under-resourced and unable to meet basic operational, instructional, and infrastructure needs. To ensure equitable and sustainable education funding, the legislature must restore lost purchasing power by adjusting these formulas to reflect inflation and implementing automatic annual indexing to prevent future erosion.

LOR was developed to give school districts that were unable to pass an operating referendum the ability to levy up to $724 of additional revenue by school board approval without running an operating referendum election.

LOR tiers established in 2013 and 2019 have lost value due to inflation. To match 2025 purchasing power, the $424 and $300 components should be increased to $598 and $381, respectively—a $255 total increase. LOR should be increased to $979 to restore the purchasing power lost to inflation and indexed to inflation so that funding can adjust automatically in future years.

The increased immigration enforcement in the Columbia Heights and surrounding areas will negatively impact the school district in multiple ways.