The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that school districts must register and report campaign spending related to ballot questions.

The ruling stems from a 2010 complaint against the St. Louis County School District. Complainants maintained district leaders and school board members violated state campaign laws by using public funds to promote the passage of a school building bond referendum, and not reporting it to the state as campaign spending.

In his opinion, Justice Alan Page writes there's nothing in state law to indicate the Legislature intended to exempt school districts from campaign reporting requirements.

The court's ruling also sent the case back to an administrative law judge to decide whether the district used public funds to improperly promote passage of the referendum, as complainants alleged.