Parents react to Minneapolis Public Schools potential closures
Parents react to Minneapolis Public Schools potential closures
Minneapolis Public Schools could shrink from 59 schools down to as few as 44, and some parents say they feel blindsided. FOX 9's Emily Pofahl has the story.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minneapolis Public Schools could shrink from 59 schools down to as few as 44, and some parents say they feel blindsided.
What's driving the closures
What we know:
MPS Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams presented the school board with three "transformation plan" options on Tuesday, all aimed at cutting costs and right-sizing the district. The district is staring down a $40 million budget shortfall this year, on top of steadily declining enrollment. Officials are careful not to use the word "close" — instead, they're calling it "unprogramming" buildings, meaning those schools would no longer house K-12 academic programs.
Of the district's roughly 29,000 students, 12 percent, or about 3,500 would have to move to different buildings. Across all three options, 13 buildings with active academic programming would either shut down or change how they're used. Some of those buildings could eventually be repurposed for things like early childhood education, community education or other district programs.
Kenny Elementary in the crosshairs
Parents push back:
Kenny Elementary, a south Minneapolis school, is one of the schools on the list. John Sheesley moved to Minnesota one year ago and specifically chose Kenny over other public and private schools to send his daughter. He said finding out Tuesday night that the school could close caught him completely off guard.
"We chose Kenny Elementary School because it's excellent," said Sheesley. "This still caught me off guard last night."
Sheesley made it clear what a closure would mean for his family. FOX 9's Emily Pofahl asked him directly — if Kenny closes, would his family leave the district? "Absolutely and so will our education dollars," said Sheesley. "Because we want more stability."
Parents want answers
Frustration at Howe Elementary:
Outside Howe Elementary, another school caught up in the proposals, parent Samantha Pipkorn said she's struggling to make sense of the plan.
"I'm just like devastated," said Pipkorn.
Pipkorn attended Tuesday night’s meeting, and went through the 100-plus page presentation to the board.
"It's just really murky," she said. "I think it was intentionally vague."
One of the biggest frustrations for parents like Pipkorn is that the district hasn't laid out the overall cost savings for each of the three options. She's calling for more clarity before any decisions are made.
"I think we need financial transparency of the actual true impact of these closures," said Pipkorn. "Why are we doing this now? This doesn't make sense to me."
What we don't know:
The district hasn't shared the overall cost savings tied to each of the three consolidation options, so it's unclear which plan would make the biggest financial difference. FOX 9's Emily Pofahl reached out to MPS for an interview and more information but did not hear back.
What's next:
The board is set to hear community feedback through mid-October, with a vote expected later this fall. The district has seven public meetings planned in the coming weeks, each running from 6-7 p.m. If a plan is approved, changes would be implemented starting with the 2027-28 school year.