Proposed Minnesota education budget cuts private school funding

MINNEAPOLIS — Private schools are raising the alarm over Gov. Tim Walz’s proposed education budget, which cuts funding for nonpublic school transportation and educational materials in 2026.

Walz’s updated budget proposal, released March 21, eliminates nonpublic pupil education aid — estimated to cost $52.5 million in 2026-27 and $56.4 million in 2028-29 — and nonpublic pupil transportation aid — budgeted at $56.2 million for 2026-7 and $58.4 million for 2028-29.

Nonpublic pupil aid, created in 1969, helps private schools throughout the state pay for textbooks, standardized tests, health services, guidance counselors and other education materials. Walz’s proposed budget also ends the nonpublic pupil transportation aid, which requires school districts to help transport private school kids if the private school requests it.

Cutting both would save the state over $100 million, according to a Minnesota Department of Education presentation. These cuts to private school funding come as the state is predicted to have a $6 billion budget deficit during the 2028-29 budget cycle, according to state budget forecasters.

“MDE remains committed to addressing budget challenges head-on with the needs of Minnesota students, educators, schools and libraries at the center,” spokesperson Anna Kurth said in a statement. “The Governor’s revised budget recommendations work within our fiscal reality to leave positive balances on the bottom line, ensuring our state remains in a position to continue serving learners for generations to come.”

Private school administrators say ending financial aid to nonpublic schools will have dire consequences.

Tricia Menzhuber, principal for St. John Paul II Catholic Preparatory School, said in a February committee hearing that her school relies on nonpublic pupil aid to fund a guidance counselor and nurse for students.

Several private school leaders at that committee meeting said pulling state funding from private schools was unfair and discriminatory to nonpublic students.

Tim Benz, president of MINNDEPENDENT, which advocates for private schools at the state and federal level, said he was “blindsided” by the budget cuts to nonpublic pupil aid. He said that without it, private schools would be forced to roll back the services that directly support students.

“A lot of these services are delivered directly in the school. Whether it’s counseling or guidance, that’s just something that families will have to, unfortunately, try to find another venue or another avenue to do that," he said.

Benz said cutting the transportation aid will be especially detrimental to private schools in rural areas and leave students with limited transportation options from accessing their schools.

“These impact the families and the students that can least afford to lose these services: families who absolutely rely on busing and transportation to get their kids to school, people who work multiple jobs or those that just don’t have access to good transportation,” he said.

Quentin Moore, vice president of advancement for Ascension Catholic Academy in Minneapolis, said the nonpublic pupil aid is crucial to schools like his, and that it makes up a small portion of the state budget.

“It doesn’t make sense fiscally. It doesn’t make sense for our scholars and the families that we serve. And it will have tremendous detrimental impact to those nonpublic scholars and families,” Moore said in the February committee meeting.

State lawmakers also gave Walz’s proposed education budget mixed grades in a March 27 committee meeting. Outside of eliminating funding for the nonpublic pupil and transportation aid, the budget also cuts the alternative teacher pay program QComp and reduces funding for special education student transportation to reduce spending.

House Education Finance Committee Co-chair Rep. Ron Krensha, R-Little Falls, said he understood the financial outlook of the state budget but more negotiations are needed to make the bill carrying the budget, HF2433 , acceptable.

“It’s a starting point, but it’s also a very, very difficult starting point and a painful one," he said.

Walz’s proposed budget was laid over by the House Education Finance Committee. The Senate’s version, SF2255 , was referred to the Education Finance Committee.