Guest Editorial: Stop the raid on K-12 savings fund

The following is a guest editorial by Jon Martinson, Executive Director of the North Dakota School Board Association.

Measure 2 will raid the K-12 education savings account (Foundation Aid Stabilization Fund), a constitutional fund established by the citizens of North Dakota in 1994 to be used exclusively for K-12 education. Its purpose is to offset any reductions to K-12 education when the state experiences a revenue shortfall. Only the governor was given the authority to transfer money from this fund to the state’s general fund. Now, legislators want access to raid this savings account.

Measure 2 will do the following: reduce the K-12 savings account to all but 15 percent of the money it takes to finance K-12 education, allow the governor to access the remaining 15 percent, and allow the legislative assembly to spend dollars in the savings account …