Empty desks, tough choices: Minneapolis families face possible closure of 16 schools
Minneapolis school board chair on cuts and closures
Minneapolis School Board Chair Collin Beachy is addressing the difficult decisions ahead as the district considers closing as many as 16 schools.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minneapolis school district has put forward proposals that could close as many as 16 schools, and families, teachers and board members are now weighing what that means for their communities.
The case for consolidation
What we know:
More than 12,000 desks sit empty across the Minneapolis school district. The district has the capacity for 42,000 students but currently enrolls fewer than 30,000. That gap has pushed the district to follow others — including St. Paul and Robbinsdale — in proposing consolidation.
Webster Elementary is one of the schools that could be closed by next year. It's currently operating at just 55% capacity, according to the district’s "transformation data tool."
"It has been years of underfunding from the state and federal government. It has been years of declining enrollment," said Collin Beachy, Minneapolis School Board Chair.
Beachy told FOX 9 that enrollment has started ticking up again in recent years, but not enough to fully fund all the schools. The district is also carrying a nearly $40 million budget deficit, and selling off school properties is one way officials say they could chip away at that gap.
"If anything like that would happen, I know that one of the first things that we'd be doing is talking with the city and the park board to try and keep these things in public hands," said Beachy.
What's at stake for teachers and families
Local perspective:
Many teachers and parents are not on board with the proposals, particularly because the district has not yet detailed how the closures would actually save money. One possibility that has come up is job cuts alongside school closures.
"I think that there could be a potential for that to have to happen, but I know that, as I said earlier, our concentration is on trying to get as many of these teachers to different schools as close by as possible," said Beachy.
Beachy also said consolidation could mean educators at the remaining schools would have access to better resources.
Where things stand
What we don't know:
The school board's vote won't happen until at least November, and Beachy said he is not yet committed to any of the proposals on the table. He's calling on the public to weigh in before any decisions are made.
"It's a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation here," Beachy said. "I've been, for four years I've been told I don't have political courage. We've got, we're kicking the can down the road, that we're spinning our wheels. And now that there's no more road to kick the can down, it's still obviously going to, you know, a decision has to be made. Something has to done differently, in my perspective. If this is the plan to do so, I don't know, you know, but the public's going to have to tell me."
What you can do:
The district is already accepting public input online. Listening sessions are also set to begin next Tuesday at all seven community high schools — none of which are among the schools being considered for closure.
All listening sessions will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Interpreters (Spanish, Hmong & Somali) and childcare will be available.
- Camden High School: Sept. 30, 2026
- Washburn High School: Oct. 1, 2026
- Edison High School: Oct. 2, 2026
- South High School: Oct. 6, 2026
- North High School: Oct. 7, 2026
- Southwest High School: Oct. 8, 2026
- Roosevelt High School: Oct. 9, 2026
The Source: FOX 9's Corin Hoggard spoke with Minneapolis School Board Chair Collin Beachy.