Commissioner
Brock Greenfield
At statehood, the Permanent Trust Fund was established with the intent of providing a continuous source of revenue for public schools, universities and endowed institutions. Proceeds from the sale of land are to be deposited in the fund, which can be added to but never diminished. The interest revenue generated by the fund is apportioned to school districts, universities and endowed institutions. Prior to the year 2001, the growth of the fund was based on land sales, mineral revenue and capital gains. In the 2000 general election, the voters changed the constitution and chose to allow the Commissioner of School and Public Lands to increase investment opportunities for the permanent school fund and retain the inflation percentage in the fund also known as the Consumer Price Index Adjustment or CPI.
According to the South Dakota Investment council, The CPI rate of 9.00% for fiscal year 2022 when applied to the permanent school and other educational charitable funds resulted in an inflation adjustment of $19,471,035.42 the CPI Adjustment is made to the individual fund balances in February of each year.