The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced Tuesday that the endowment used to help fund public education in Texas hit a milestone achievement. The Permanent School Fund (PSF) reached its highest-ever value of $41.44 billion as of August 31, up $4.16 over the previous year.

The nation’s largest educational endowment today, the PSF was created in 1854 with a $2 million appropriation by the Texas Legislature. The Constitution of 1876 added certain public lands and all proceeds from the sales of those lands to the fund, and the Submerged Lands Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1953 gave the fund control of mineral rights extending off the Texas coast into the Gulf of Mexico.

The majority of the fund, worth $32.73 billion, is managed by the State Board of Education (SBOE). The remaining $8.7 billion is managed by the General Land Office (GLO) through the School Land Board. The fund is invested in a diverse portfolio of assets and undergoes regular audits and performance reviews. Investment decisions often come before the board’s Committee on School Finance and the Permanent School Fund.

“The Permanent School Fund is the gift that keeps on giving to Texas schools,” State Board of Education Chair Donna Bahorich said in a statement provided by the TEA. “With the board’s careful oversight and the continued strong day-to-day administration of the Fund by the Permanent School Fund staff, the Fund will continue to support Texas schools for generations to come.”

“During the 2018-2019 biennium, the Permanent School Fund is projected to distribute $2.5 billion to Texas schools,” SBOE member David Bradley, who chairs the PSF committee, told the TEA. “This is the largest distribution in the Fund’s 163-year history and is $400 million higher than the distribution made in the 2016-2017 biennium.”

The PSF is also used to guarantee bonds by leveraging the fund’s AAA credit rating. Since 1983, the Bond Guarantee Program (BGP) has guaranteed more than $166 billion in bonds without default. In 2011, the Texas Legislature allowed charters to access the BGP. Despite the danger posed by risking taxpayer funds to guarantee loans to charters, which have shown a greater likelihood of financial trouble or default than school districts, the Texas Legislature passed legislation in 2017 to expand the amount of capacity available to charters.