Senate panel advances education omnibus with temporary decoupling of formula inflation and UI funding for hourly school workers

Senator Kunish and other education-finance authors presented Senate File 2255 to the Minnesota Senate Taxes Committee on April 23, outlining an omnibus K–12 package that temporarily decouples the basic formula from automatic inflation, raises several formula and categorical items and provides a $100 million appropriation for unemployment insurance for hourly school workers.

The bill would set a 2.7% increase in the general education formula for the 2026 school year and allow up to a 3% increase in 2027, expand funding for special education and English-learner cross-subsidy aides, double the base amount for student support aid, increase flexibility for school lunch funds and allow some districts to renew capital project levies by board vote rather than holding an election. Senator Kunish said the measure also adds long-term facilities maintenance (LTFM) eligibility for roof repairs statewide and makes a technical change to county auditor deadlines for tax increment financing districts.

Why it matters: committee members said the bill reshapes how state dollars follow schools across the next biennia and shifts one of the largest decisions — whether the formula allowance rises automatically with inflation — to future legislatures. The committee approved the bill on a 5–4 roll call and sent it to Finance.

Major provisions and fiscal details - Formula and categorical changes: Kunish described three articles and 13 sections that touch taxes and education funding, including the…