Minneapolis Public Schools faces $30 million deficit

Minneapolis Public Schools is eyeing another deficit in a string of annual budget shortfalls — this time, at least $30.3 million in 2026-27.

The deficit is lighter than the $75 million gap the state’s third-largest district faced entering the current school year, for which the school system enacted its highest level of cuts in a decade, an official said.

The $30 million deficit is now the subject of a series of community meetings that will continue into January. Attendees are being asked, too, what they value and desire in their children’s education as part of a district “transformation” process that could eventually include closing or merging schools.

But closures and mergers are not yet part of the community conversations.

Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams has until April to report to school board members about the more controversial aspects of a potential district makeover, and for now, the community engagement is focused on academics and ideas to boost enrollment.

A new parents group, Minneapolis Families for Public Schools (MFPS), working with the help of TakeAction Minnesota, the progressive political advocacy group, has enlisted members to attend the sessions ahead of them potentially pushing later against school closures.

They are critical, too, of what they describe as the district’s “doom and gloom” approach to budgeting.

In a recent community meeting at South High School, Ibrahima Diop, senior financial officer for Minneapolis Public Schools, emphasized that the forecast projects what would occur if the district made no changes to its budget. But every year, he said, “we do what we need to do as fiscal agents of the district to make sure that we control our expenses.”

For the current school year, Diop said, the district enacted cuts at levels not seen in the past 10 years. In June, when the budget was approved, the district said in a statement that it was cutting 400 positions, including nearly 120 teachers, according to WCCO-TV.

The end result: Whereas five years ago, when the forecast showed the district’s reserves plummeting to a negative $75 million to $78 million in 2025-26, Diop said, it now is expected, instead, to have a $140 million balance due to moves made along the way.

Some parents who still cite a lack of trust with the district over a sweeping, controversial overhaul in 2020 say the shifting numbers do not inspire confidence.

“They’re not being real,” said Shannon Gibney, a parent leader with Minneapolis Families for Public Schools. “They’re setting up a narrative around scarcity and a fear around funding.”

At the community meetings, which are taking place through Jan. 15, attendees file into separate rooms designated for parents, staff members, students and community members.

Parents are asked about their school choice decisions, and their children’s experiences with core classes like math and English language arts, as well as those “beyond the core,” including dual language programs, advanced coursework and career connected learning.

“People did have a lot to say,” Gibney said. “One thing I heard loud and clear as an asset was diversity and embracing cultural competency.”

No one mentioned cuts or school closings. Large class sizes, however, remained a concern, Gibney said.

The parents group rallied behind the Minneapolis Federation of Educators in its recent contract demands. A deal was reached in November just days before teachers were set to strike, and it called for lower class sizes at schools with 70% or more students qualifying for food assistance.

“But we did feel good that it gives us a different foothold in terms of accountability and oversight for those issues as they may arise,” said Rob Aspholm, a MFPS parent leader who attended bargaining sessions.

He said that investments, as opposed to closures or mergers, should be the district’s path forward.

Ty Thompson, deputy superintendent for Minneapolis Public Schools, offered similar thoughts at South High.

“School transformation is the process where we’re planning for the budget as we reimagine the MPS student experience,” she said. “This process is not just about the district’s physical footprint, but how we can deliver an academic product that sets up all of our students for success.”