Moorhead-Area Students Turn to GoFundMe After Rob Kupec Votes Against School Funding

For politicians like Rob Kupec, voting against funding for local schools is just another roll-call vote at the State Capitol.

For students in Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, the consequences were much more real.

Kupec cast the deciding vote against a proposal that would have provided roughly $500,000 in additional funding to DGF Schools. The amendment failed with every Republican voting for it and every Democrat, including Kupec, voting against it.

DGF later found itself staring down a massive budget shortfall. With no additional aid from the state, DGF schools placed an $850,000 operating levy on the ballot last year that failed by just 33 votes. As a result, the district approved approximately $1 million in cuts for the 2026-27 school year, eliminating teachers, staff, coaching positions and funding for student programs.

Among the casualties of the Kupec budget cuts: the DGF debate team. 

Students in Kupec’s own Senate district were left having to start a GoFundMe just to keep their debate program alive.

The fundraiser sought money for expenses like travel, tournament fees and coaching. The community responded, raising thousands of dollars to help preserve the program.

These weren’t students fundraising for some extravagant perk. They were trying to save a school activity because their district could no longer afford to fully fund it.

And they were doing it after their own state senator had a chance to send hundreds of thousands of additional dollars to their school district and voted no.

The district’s budget problems didn’t begin with a single vote at the Capitol. But Kupec had an opportunity to help an underfunded school district in his own backyard — and he voted against it.

Then the cuts came.

Teachers and staff were eliminated. Student programs took a hit. Debate funding was cut. And students were left asking the public for donations just to keep competing.

Thankfully, the students and their community stepped up where Kupec didn’t.

Parents already pay state taxes and local property taxes to support their schools. Yet after Kupec voted against additional funding for DGF, families were asked to approve another local levy. When that failed, students were left turning to GoFundMe.

That’s passing the buck.

When Rob Kupec had the opportunity to stand up for DGF Schools at the State Capitol, he voted no.

When the cuts came, students paid the price.

And when their debate team needed saving, it wasn’t Rob Kupec who came to the rescue.

It was a GoFundMe.

The students GoFundMe has now raised enough for the debate team, so they have turned to funding other programs cut as a result of Rob Kupec. If you want to support DGF School programs, you can donate here.