FY 2003 is the first year of the state takeover of general education funding, making this the more relevant time frame in terms of the current policy debate. This analysis uses the 2006 end-of-session Price of Government (POG) report from the Minnesota Department of Finance, the most inclusive source of FY 2007 revenue information for school districts currently available.
| From FY 2003 to FY 2007 (the current fiscal year), per pupil state aid to Minnesota public schools has fallen by $740 (8.6%) in constant FY 2007 dollars, necessitating a $558 (40.3%) increase in per pupil school property taxes and a $181 (1.5%) decline in per pupil school revenue. |
Change in Inflation-Adjusted Per Pupil State Aid to
Schools, School Property Taxes, & Total School Revenue: FY 2003 to FY 2007
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The following graph shows inflation-adjusted per pupil school revenue, property taxes and state aid for each year from FY 2003 to FY 2007
Total School District Revenue, Property Taxes,
and State Aid from FY 2003 to FY 2007
Table Notes:
The Price of Government report is prepared by the Minnesota Department of Finance. Information for FY 2006 and FY 2007 is projected. The sum of state aid and school property taxes does not equal total school district revenue because total revenue includes other categories of revenue, such as federal aid. Inflation adjustment is based on the Implicit Price Deflator (IPD) for state and local government purchases. Per pupil adjustment is based on average daily membership (ADM) from the Minnesota Department of Education.
At the same time that school district revenues have fallen, the number of special need students—disabled, English language learners and children in poverty—have continued to increase. In addition, mandated costs associated with the federal “No Child Left Behind” act have increased.
In short, real school costs have increased while
real school revenue has decreased.
See what your district really netted:
2003-2007 Grand Total Revenue by District - A table showing inflation-adjusted per pupil change in revenue, aids, and property tax levies for each Minnesota school district during the period from FY 2003 to FY 2007. This table reveals that inflation adjusted per pupil state aid to schools and total school revenue have fallen while school property taxes have increased in seven out of every ten Minnesota school districts since the state takeover of general education in FY 2003.
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