Documenters report: Minneapolis Public Schools has 1,000 fewer students than expected, braces for $13 million loss
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Twin Cities Documenters (via MinnPost)
MinnPost’s Twin Cities Documenters program trains and pays community members to take notes at local government meetings. Below are Documenter Al Zdon’s summary and observations from the Oct. 27 meeting of the Minneapolis Board of Education. You can find Zdon’s full notes here, which include links to the agenda.
About this committee:
The Minneapolis Board of Education, more commonly known as the Minneapolis school board, has a policy committee and a finance committee that meet monthly. These meetings are not recorded or livestreamed by the district. Any decisions taken at the committee level still need to be approved by the full board.
Key outcomes:
The board received an update that the district’s enrollment is down 650 students from last year. The district had planned on a gain of 300 students, so the total loss is nearly 1,000 students. This results in a loss of per-pupil funding from the state of about $12.9 million for this school year.
The loss was attributed mainly to Operation Metro Surge earlier this year. In the district there are about 900 fewer students identifying as English learners.
The board asked where those students had gone, and staff responded that unless another school district requests the students’ records, there’s no way of knowing. It’s possible that many students have simply stopped attending because of increased immigration enforcement, board member Abdul Abdi said.
The board did not discuss how to make up the $12.9 million, but was told that the issue would be revisited at the Nov. 10 board meeting.
The board will vote on whether the district will sell two bonds at their Dec. 8 meeting. One is for $37 million and another is for $51 million to pay for capital projects such as maintenance, construction and roofs.
Senior Operations Officer Tom Parent said the district is continuing to explore what it would look like to build a new school for Anishinabe Academy, with an estimated cost of $100 million. He said this would have to be paid for through bonds, and the board could make a decision by next June. He also said the district is no longer looking at the Wilder School as a possible new home for the academy.
Observations and follow up questions:
Accessibility: Did you face any challenges that made it harder to document the meeting or that may have made it difficult for others to attend?
There was no problem with the meeting room, although there is a continuing problem identifying speakers, particular vendors or staff members. The press is sequestered in a small area in the back of the room making visual identification difficult. Part of the problem could be solved by listing the presenters on the slides that accompany most presentations.
Scene:
✅ I attended this meeting in-person
About how many other members of the public did you see at the meeting?
About 10
Notable: Do you have any follow up questions or other observations to share?
How many teachers will be laid off, and what other measures will be taken to balance the $13 million loss in revenue?
Can the district determine how many of these students are simply being kept at home because of the immigration enforcement fears, and how can these students be helped?
How to get involved:
The next regular board meeting is Nov. 10.
The board’s regular meetings begin with a public comment period. Residents can also find contact information for their representatives on the school board website.
