October 28, 2025

The Minneapolis School Board is stepping up! They have officially told Superintendent Dr. Lisa Sayles-Adams to dig deep and gather information that could lead to closing some schools in the next few years. Why? Because fewer kids are coming to public schools, costs keep climbing, and the district needs to downsize to stay healthy. Imagine this: the district has buildings for 42,000 students but only 29,000 kids are attending! At a recent meeting, the board passed a resolution asking for a report by April 2026 to explore their options. They want to fix this mismatch that's hurting the budget. The problem isn’t new. Since 2022, warnings have popped up. A financial check that year said the schools could run out of backup money by 2026 if they don’t cut spending. While bigger classes and fewer services delayed trouble, the district still leans on one-time funds to keep afloat. Here’s a shocking fact: nearby Anoka-Hennepin has 37 schools for about 37,000 students, but Minneapolis runs 61 schools for only 29,000 students! That means more money goes to keep buildings open instead of teaching or fun activities. Small, costly schools are draining resources. The talk about changing or closing schools started hitting the headlines in March 2023 when then-board chair Sharon El-Amin asked for a plan. Later that year, the board approved a check of the district’s buildings but didn’t set deadlines for closures. After Dr. Sayles-Adams became superintendent in 2024, she promised to tackle this problem once the budget was set. She told the public that community members wanted her to deal with the imbalance between too many buildings and too few students. Operating schools that aren't full is a big money drain. Fixed staff like principals, nurses, janitors, librarians, and social workers are needed no matter how many students are there. So, when schools are emptier, more money pays for buildings instead of better teaching, sports, or teacher pay. This hurts kids too. Smaller elementary schools find it hard to pay for full-time art, music, or gym teachers. Some students missed these fun classes for months! Middle and high schools suffer too: less variety in electives, fewer Advanced Placement and IB classes, and teams sharing players across schools. These cuts push families to look for other schooling options like private or suburban schools, making the problem bigger. There is a small silver lining. After losing nearly 15% of students post-pandemic, enrollment rose a bit with new immigrant kids from Central America. English learner students now make up 23% of all students, up from 17% in 2021–22, but serving them costs more—$17 million extra—than the district gets from the government. Some newcomers are homeless, needing special transportation from shelters outside district lines. Even with new laws helping pay those costs, money gaps remain. Still, experts say enrollment will likely keep falling because fewer babies are born, families move away, and state open enrollment lets kids attend schools outside Minneapolis. Hazel Reinhardt, a demographic advisor, said, “precious few” districts manage to bring families back once they leave. Since funding depends on student numbers, every lost child makes money tight. The district plans to take $25 million from savings this year, after using $85 million last year. This isn’t just a Minneapolis problem. Big cities like Oakland, San Francisco, Denver, Seattle, and Portland face similar challenges. Some have closed schools, others paused plans because of strong community pushback. Now Minneapolis stands at a crossroads. By 2026, the board and Superintendent Sayles-Adams must decide whether to merge schools, change programs, or find fresh ways to attract families back. Their choice will shape education in the city amid shifting populations, tougher competition, and tighter budgets. Exciting, challenging times lie ahead!

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Tags: Minneapolis schools, School closures, Declining enrollment, Education budget, Student enrollment, School funding,