Minneapolis school board finance meeting crashed by protestors
The district presented ideas to make about $37 million in reductions the superintendent says will mostly impact the central office.
MINNEAPOLIS — Emotions ran high Tuesday night at the Minneapolis School Board as protesters crashed its Finance Committee meeting.
Several directors were listening and asking questions to department heads about how to handle a $75 million budget shortfall.
Superintendent Dr. Lisa Sayles-Adams was quick to point out that the largest reductions are expected to come from the central office. But the potential cuts to special education have parents and staff sounding the alarm.
The protesters even demanded that directors sign a pledge that they won’t pass a budget that includes staff reductions, class size increases and to reinstate any positions already impacted by next month.
“I want to acknowledge that while I believe this is the right approach given our available resources, it will impact how we carry out our work,” said Dr. Sayles-Adams.
The presentation mostly surrounded allocations to the district’s departments and reductions to some of them. That includes human resources, communications and legal services. The changes could impact custodians, food service and tutors, as costs continue to outweigh revenue across the state.
The latest Association of Metropolitan School Districts (AMSD) survey finds nearly 50 local districts face a combined $280 million shortfall due to fewer funding streams and falling enrollment.
“There’s some guess work, kind of having to estimate what might pass when the legislature finally puts its budget bills together, and now this year, you add in the uncertainty of the federal government, and it makes things that much more complicated,” said AMSD Executive Director Scott Croonquist.
The district hasn’t made any board members available for an interview with KARE 11 reporter Jennifer Hoff, but in a past statement, they have written, “Special education will be seeing a year-over-year increase of $3 million.”
In a new statement Tuesday, they also noted, “We are prioritizing our students’ needs and core functions and making significant reductions primarily in the area of administrative costs. There are no plans at this time to close or consolidate schools for the 2025-26 school year. More information is available on our budget webpage.”
Their entire presentation includes hundreds of slides.
The board is expected to vote on a finalized budget in June.
“Every person and every position being proposed for elimination brings value to the organization and I wish we were not in this situation that requires these difficult choices,” said Dr. Sayles-Adams.
