Minneapolis Public Schools is set to lay off about 120 administrative staffers today, a move expected to redirect about $11.6 million back into district schools.

District officials have not said which positions located at the Davis Service Center will be cut.

In a letter sent to parents and others Monday, interim superintendent Michael Goar said the cuts were necessary for the district to make the kind of investments it has established as top budgetary priorities: reducing class sizes in non-high priority schools, reducing special education caseloads and providing additional instruction time for middle and high school students.

"To support and adequately fund these important investments, we conducted rigorous and careful analysis to identify areas of savings and investment within the Davis Center. We need to streamline and redefine the way we work in order to ensure that students and schools have the funds they need," Goar wrote.

District spokeswoman Rachel Hicks told the Star Tribune on Saturday that laid-off workers will be encouraged to apply for positions opening at schools, with the intention of "returning those very talented people to the classroom."

Staff members will be notified that their positions are eliminated this week but will be able to stay in their seats through the end of June. Layoffs will likely affect all aspects of the staff, Hicks said.

All of the district's schools will receive a piece of the redirected funding in the form of discretionary dollars, but the money will not be evenly distributed. Breakdowns are expected to be released in coming weeks, Hicks said.

Goar announced his plans to downsize the administrative office Feb. 2 — the day he took over for Bernadeia Johnson.