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Minnesota forecast shows small surplus; Hopkins warned limited new K‑12 funding likely
Summary
At a Hopkins Public School District community session, state finance expert Krista Caput said Minnesota’s November forecast shows a modest $616 million biennial surplus and a projected later structural deficit, limiting the likelihood of large new K‑12 funding increases and affecting Hopkins’ budget outlook.
At a community engagement session hosted by Hopkins Public School District, Krista Caput, a state education finance expert, told residents that Minnesota’s most recent forecast projects a $616,000,000 surplus over the next biennium but a “structural imbalance” in the following period, limiting the potential for new ongoing K‑12 funding.
Caput said the surplus is small relative to the state’s total two‑year budget and that “with the split legislature, I do not anticipate a lot of extra money going to education” in the next budget cycle. She told the Hopkins audience the two largest drivers of state spending are health and human services and education, and that much state revenue comes from income and sales taxes.
Why it matters: Minnesota supplies roughly 62% of the average per‑pupil funding statewide, so changes at the state level matter directly for district operating revenue. Caput said the state’s education allocation is about 35% of the biennial general fund and that most of that education allocation flows to general education and special education.
Caput walked attendees through funding mechanics that matter to Hopkins. The state’s basic formula allowance — the per‑pupil base used to distribute general education aid — was $7,281 per pupil for the year she cited; for fiscal 2023 Hopkins received roughly $51,200,000 in basic formula revenue. Caput emphasized that state funding is set on a two‑year cycle and that the next full budget-setting session would be the 2025 legislative session.
District leaders at the session repeated the practical constraints the forecast imposes. Rachel Hartland, treasurer of the Hopkins school board, said districts should not expect the federal ESSER (COVID relief) funding to return and that state increases tied to inflation are capped at 3% under current statutory language, while some district cost categories have risen faster than that cap.
Caput recommended community members follow the upcoming legislative process and the district’s budget work this winter and spring; district staff and board members said more detailed budget choices will be developed and presented as the board moves toward a final budget in May.
