How Lake Harriet got here
Lake Harriet Community School is two buildings with one history. The Fulton School (1915) became the Upper campus and the Audubon School (1924) the Lower campus when the district paired them in 2000 as a K-8. In fall 2021 the Comprehensive District Design removed grades 6-8 and sent them to Anthony Middle; Upper's enrollment fell 44% in a single year. Some of them left the district completely. The Sept 15, 2026 proposal would close the Lower campus and put every K-5 student in the Upper building.
- 1915SchoolFulton School opens at 49th and Vincent
The building that is now the Upper campus. It has no kitchen and no air conditioning; a 2017 assessment rated its condition good. Design enrollment is about 581.
- 1924SchoolAudubon School opens at 40th and Chowen in Linden Hills
The building that is now the Lower campus, built to serve a west-Linden Hills attendance zone that wasn't yet fully developed. It has its own kitchen, unlike the Upper campus building. Design enrollment is about 509.
- 1954SchoolAudubon gets an addition for post-war enrollment growth
A time capsule sealed in the new wing that year was found during 2014 construction and opened at the school's centennial in 2024.
- 2000Board decisionAudubon and Fulton are paired as Lake Harriet Community School, a two-campus K-8
The former Audubon became the Lower campus (K-3) and the former Fulton the Upper campus (4-8). This is the origin of the two-campus model that the 2026 proposal would end.
- 2014SchoolMPS builds a second addition on the Lower campus
The PTA described the result as a "newly remodeled and expanded Lower Campus, K-3." The district expanded the building eleven years before proposing to close it. Capital spent 2014-2023: $922,442 on Lower, $2,165,179 on Upper.
- Oct 2019EnrollmentCombined enrollment: 1,138 students across both campuses
Lower 503, Upper 635, on the district's own dashboard. As a K-8, Lake Harriet was above the ~1,000-1,133 minimum the district would set for K-8 schools in April 2026.
- May 12, 2020Board decisionBoard approves the Comprehensive District Design
Every community school moves to a K-5 format. The district's own 2023 review counted the result as "Reduction of K-8s to 2 sites," down from eight. Lake Harriet was one of the K-8s eliminated.
- Fall 2021DistrictCDD takes effect: grades 6-8 leave for Anthony Middle, campuses become K-2 and 3-5
A corner of the Fulton neighborhood was also rezoned from Lake Harriet to Armatage; the boundary was otherwise unchanged. No students were grandfathered.
- Oct 2022EnrollmentUpper campus drops from 566 to 319 students in one year
A 44% decline in the year three grades left the building. Roughly two-thirds of Lake Harriet's total enrollment loss since 2019 is explained by the district removing grades 6-8, not by families leaving.
- May 2024SchoolLower campus marks 100 years
The 1954 time capsule is opened at the centennial celebration.
- Oct 2024DistrictMPS's own walkthrough finds Upper's classrooms too small for today's program
The district's physical space study, based on staff and family walkthroughs, found Upper's classrooms "not large enough for modern educational program"; only 11 of its roughly 25 classroom-plan rooms were actually in use as classrooms. This is the building the Sept 15 plan proposes to consolidate every K-5 student into.
- Oct 14, 2025Board decisionBoard directs staff to study closures, and "increased K-8 models"
Resolution 2025-0045 asked for analysis of "advantages/disadvantages and K-8 schools," "possible K-8's," and an enrollment strategy that "includes increased K-8 models."
- Apr 21, 2026DistrictDistrict sets a K-8 size bar of roughly 1,000 students
Staff told the board a K-8 needs about 1,018-1,133 students plus science labs, gyms and cafeterias, and that fewer than 5% of MPS buildings meet all criteria. Lake Harriet's 2019 enrollment of 1,138 cleared the number; its 2025 enrollment of 585 does not.
- Sept 15, 2026Board decisionTransformation proposal: Lower campus closes in all three options
Both campuses combine at Upper as a K-5. MPS projects 540-580 students there under Options 1 and 2 and 480-500 under Option 3, against a design enrollment of 581: 93-100% of capacity, above the district's own 80-90% utilization target. The same proposal expands Seward Montessori to a K-8.
- Sept 23, 2026SchoolLHCS Transformation Town Hall, Upper campus gym, 6pm
Open meeting with LHCS principals, PTA and Site Council.
- Oct 8, 2026DistrictMPS Southwest pathway community meeting, Southwest High School, 6-7:30pm
The district's own required feedback session for Lake Harriet's pathway. Interpreters (Spanish, Hmong, Somali) and childcare provided.
- TodayNov 10, 2026Board decisionUpcomingBoard vote scheduled
The board is scheduled to vote on the transformation plan.