Data: Minneapolis Public Schools capacity study; Note: Map omits some schools where key data is unavailable
Minneapolis school board members will consider Tuesday whether to pause a controversial plan to close or merge at least 14 schools next year.
Why it matters: After years of cutbacks, Minneapolis Public Schools officials say they need to consolidate resources on fewer campuses to build attractive programs and replenish the district’s enrollment pipeline.
- But many critics argue the closures would do the opposite: destabilize the district and send more parents fleeing for charter schools or other districts.
Driving the news: MPS board members Greta Callahan and Sharon El-Amin plan to introduce a resolution at Tuesday night’s meeting that would pause any closures until at least 2028.
- Callahan told KARE 11 the district’s proposal itself may have already spooked parents into leaving: “We need to stop the bleeding.”
The big picture: More than two-thirds of MPS buildings are currently less than 70% full — but some of these under-capacity schools would remain open under Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams’ proposal.
- The three plans MPS is weighing each target schools with smaller enrollments, even if their building is closer to full. In such schools, district officials say it’s harder to sustain comprehensive programs beyond the basics.
Zoom in: Loring Elementary on the North Side is 80% full, but parent Robin Nelson suspects it was pegged for closure because of its 315 students — an enrollment below the district average (374) for a K–5 school.
What they’re saying: “I was absolutely blindsided,” Nelson tells Axios. “We wanted to choose a small community school to have that personal relationship with our teachers.”…