LISBON, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Recent discussion about the STAYS teacher compensation proposal has brought new attention to North Dakota’s Common Schools Trust Fund. That is a good thing, because I suspect many North Dakotans know very little about it.
Steven Johnson former School Superintendent said frankly, many of us who have spent our careers in public education probably have not paid enough attention to it either. Today, the Common Schools Trust Fund holds approximately $9.1 billion. But this is not a state savings account or a pot of untapped money. It is a constitutionally protected trust, overseen by the five-member Board of University and School Lands, for the benefit of North Dakota’s common schools.
And the Trust is already working. During the 2025–27 biennium, it will distribute approximately $584.7 million toward K-12 education—roughly $2,508 per public-school student each year. Those distributions now provide about 24% of the state’s cost of K-12 education. That does not mean we should not discuss different uses of Trust distributions. We should. But first, North Dakotans should understand where this money came from, why it was placed in trust, who is responsible for it, and what it is already paying for.
The word TRUST matters. Before deciding where the money should go tomorrow, understand where it is going today.
Follow the money.
Steven L. Johnson, Lisbon, North Dakota.
