House education finance panel adopts budget compromise; amendment to restore summer UI for hourly school workers fails on 12-12 tie

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota House Education Finance Committee on April 28 reviewed a bipartisan education omnibus budget agreement and adopted a DE (delete‑all) amendment to place the compromise bill before the committee. The panel then considered, but did not approve, a roll‑call amendment to restore summer unemployment insurance (UI) eligibility for hourly school workers; the amendment failed on a 12‑12 tie.

The agreement, discussed at length by committee chairs and nonpartisan staff, would use House File 02/433 as the primary vehicle and House File 13‑88 (delete‑all) to present the committee's compromise. Nonpartisan fiscal staff summarized the package as meeting the committee's budget targets: $40,000,000 in net new general fund commitments in the 2026‑27 biennium and nets to zero in the 2028‑29 tails.

Why it matters: the bill makes a mix of ongoing and one‑time adjustments to K‑12 funding and policy that school districts, charter schools and state education agencies have said will affect staffing, literacy efforts and district operating budgets. Supporters argued the package protects several priorities from prior sessions while creating flexible local dollars; opponents and many public witnesses focused on the decision to sunset UI eligibility for hourly school workers after the summer of 2028.

Key provisions and numbers

- A $40,000,000 package in REED Act funding to be distributed to districts on a per‑pupil basis in the first biennium (the bill text references REED Act implementation and includes $40,000,000 in appropriations).

- Conversion and re‑naming of local optional revenue (LOR) to Basic Supplemental Revenue (BSA), a state aid tier funded at roughly $40 per pupil for fiscal years 2026‑27 and about $42 per pupil thereafter; the bill makes this aid available to charter schools as well as districts.

- Creation of a…