Who doesn't love a trust fund?

During the 2008 legislative session, lawmakers made a change to the way proceeds from school trust lands would be spent on schools. And now, that change is ready to pay dividends.
In previous years, money from the trust lands - which are located in northern Minnesota and generate profits on timber sales, mineral leases, taconite royalties and campground fees - were subtracted from the state's K-12 budget. Thus, school districts were not seeing any additional revenue from the land.
But last year, lawmakers decided to use those proceeds as a source of new revenue to schools. So, beginning in fiscal year 2010, districts will receive $36 per student.
Jerry Kolander, business manager for Mankato Area Public Schools, said the district has already included that extra revenue (approximately $250,000) into the budget - so it won't help in staving off possible spring reductions. But, he said, a little extra money is "always welcome."
Of course, the state legislature could always decide to change the law again in the next session. With whispers already coming out of St. Paul about another state budget deficit and another round of unallotments, such a scenario is not unlikely.

The school trust lands were created in 1858 when the federal government put two parcels of land for each township into a public school trust. For a more detailed look at the governance and history of the lands, see this legislative report. And here's an article from the International Falls Daily Journal where superintendents discuss the impacts of the trust revenue.