Nearly a year after the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education passed a resolution on school transformation, the district has completed a physical space study showing half of its 58 school buildings are operating below efficiency, with just two buildings operating highly efficiently.

A summary of the study was presented at the Board of Education’s Committee of the Whole meeting on Nov. 26. The efficiency calculations were based on industry-standards which account for square footage of rooms within the building and the class size that is typical for the grade levels served in the building. An explanation of the calculations is available in a district memo.

Seven of the district’s eight traditional high schools are underutilized, with Washburn High School the only one rated as efficient, according to the space study.

Half of the district's middle schools are underutilized, including Anwatin, Franklin, Northeast and Olson Middle Schools. All four of the underutilized middle schools are located north of downtown.

Eighteen of 41 elementary schools are classified as underutilized. Seven of them are in North Minneapolis. Three of the underutilized schools are located in Southwest Minneapolis, including Burroughs Elementary School and both campuses of Lake Harriet Elementary School.

The district estimated it could save about $45 million per year in operating costs by “right-sizing” its physical footprint in its 2023 pro forma. In 2007, the district closed six elementary schools, five of them on the Northside.

The information collected in the physical space study could form the basis for a facilities master plan in the future, according to Senior Operations Officer Tom Parent. Parent said that the feedback during the walk-throughs emphasized the importance of each particular school building to its community.

Leo Peralta, one of two student representatives on the school board, asked at the Committee of the Whole meeting what the benefits of school closures might be for students. Deputy Superintendent Ty Thompson responded that it was premature to speculate about school closures or what the benefits might be for students until the district has more information.  

Generally, underutilized schools require districts to spend more money on staff, such as principals, librarians and social workers, that are allocated per building rather than on staff that are allocated per student, like classroom teachers.

Consolidating students into fewer buildings could mean a district can re-allocate its funding to provide more services in each building, like arts and music electives, or academic intervention.

The Spanish dual immersion taskforce, also required by the board’s school transformation resolution, has met three times and will deliver both short and long term recommendations for the immersion program this month, according to Senior Academic Officer Tia Classen.

The school transformation resolution also directs the district to find central office efficiencies by using priority-based budgeting. District leadership has formed the first of two 2025-26 budget committees that are utilizing priority-based budgeting to align district expenditures with the district’s strategic plan, according to Executive Director of Finance John Clinton

The school budget committee is being led byThompson. It also includes the district’s three associate superintendents, Shawn Harris-Berry, Yusuf Abdualah and Lara Cevendar.  Senior Officer of Finance Ibrahima Diop, three unnamed principals, Executive Director of Strategic Planning Sarah Hunter, and Executive Director of Finance John Clinton are also on the school budget committee. The committee also includes three principals, Tara Fitzgerald, Michael Luseni and Holly Kleppe. Cevendar is the only named member to have served on the budget committee last year.

A second budget committee will begin working on central office department budgets this month according to Clinton.

Diop said the district does not know what the revenue and expenses gap will be for next year until the audit of the 2024 fiscal year is completed sometime this month. The pro forma, issued in October, estimated the budget gap will be $84.3 million for the 2026 fiscal year.

The final component of the transformation resolution is community engagement. Executive Director of Communications and Engagement Donnie Blecher said her team has reviewed previous feedback from the last six years.  

Blecher said the district will engage with parents and community members from January  through March 2025 about prioritizing district services and programs.

The school board will meet next on Dec. 10 for a regular business meeting at 6 p.m. The meeting will also serve as a “truth in taxation” meeting, which by law cannot start before 6 p.m. The board will receive a presentation from its auditors, and is set to approve the property tax levy for next year. The total levy amount is set at $279 million, which includes the additional $20 million approved by Minneapolis voters in the November general election.