SStop the TransformationMPS transformation, explained
You scanned a lawn sign

Minneapolis plans to close the school in your neighborhood.

You don't need a kid there for it to matter. Here's why we're asking the board to stop the vote itself, not pick a different option.

Why stop the vote

Not one school. The vote itself.

  • 3 of 9 board members face no voters for this decision.
  • The board's own required cost/benefit analysis doesn't exist.
  • Closing schools elsewhere hasn't fixed a budget like this one.
  • Even the district's own deputy superintendent admits closures aren't "a huge cost savings" — 3:13 in the recording.
Read the full case
What we are asking the board

Stop the Nov 10 vote. Wait for the newly elected board and for published goals to fix the budget.

Five of nine board seats are on the Nov 3 ballot. New members take office in January 2027. As it stands, the outgoing board would decide the future of 14 schools one week after the election, with no published savings figure for any of them.

52
days
until the board's planned vote on the final plan (Nov 10)
Per the Sept 15 presentation. District staff say decisions after Nov 10 would likely push changes to 2028-29.

These schools are not closing because they are too small.

The Sept 15 presentation codes seven of the closing buildings as large enough for the MPS student experience. They close in all three options anyway, and the deck never states a minimum size.

0
buildings coded "large enough for MPS student experience" that close in all three options
Kenny, Lake Harriet Lower, Hmong International Academy, Anwatin, Bethune, Field and Heritage Academy. Slide 25 says only buildings without a large enough footprint are merged. [Slides 6, 25]
$560k-$705k
the only savings figure in the 118 slides, a year in utilities
Against a $39.7 million shortfall in 2026-27. No school-by-school savings have been published. [Slide 112]
0
children between the district's two counts of this year's kindergartners
Slide 94 prints 5,369 predicted and 3,978 actual for 2025-26. [Slide 94]
0
minimum enrollment numbers stated in the 118 slides or the 3-hour meeting
MPS calls schools "too small" and "optimally sized" without publishing a threshold. Director Norvell asked for it on Sept 15 and did not get an answer. [Presentation] Meeting
If you don't have kids in the building

A closed school doesn't become money.

Closing a building is not the same as selling one. Minneapolis Public Schools already owns six buildings that are vacant or not used for its own programs, and the district's record on emptying them out is long.

6
MPS buildings already vacant or not used for district programs
Before a single new closure.
2+ years
how long a sale takes, per the district's own operations officer
He has said it can run "potentially significantly longer."
$50k-$80k
a year to maintain one empty elementary school
The district keeps paying that while the building sits.
2007
the year Tuttle Community School closed
It is still on the market.
Board rules adopted in 2021 also bar the district from selling a school building to a charter school or a child care center. So the realistic outcome for a closed school is not a sale, a park or housing. It is a dark building on your block for years, with the district still paying to keep the heat on. [Star Tribune, May 6, 2026]
Two minutes, right now

Call the three board members who represent every Minneapolis voter.

The at-large directors are elected citywide, so you are their constituent no matter which neighborhood you live in and whether or not you have children in the schools. Ask them not to vote on this plan as presented.

Numbers verified against the MPS School Board page. If you can't reach anyone, the district main line is 612-668-0000; ask to leave a message for the School Board.

Read this. About 60 seconds, and voicemail counts.

Hello, my name is [your name] and I live in [your neighborhood] in Minneapolis. I'm calling about the School Transformation plan. I'm asking the board not to vote on this plan as presented. The presentation never states the minimum school size it is using. Director Norvell asked for that number on September 15 and did not get an answer. The board should not close 15 or 16 buildings against a standard the public has never seen. Seven buildings the district's own map codes as large enough for the MPS student experience close in all three options anyway. Slide 25 says only buildings without a large enough footprint are merged. The deputy superintendent told the board that closures are not a big cost savings, so this plan does not fix the budget either. Stop the Nov 10 vote. Wait for the newly elected board and for published goals to fix the budget. Thank you for your time.

No option keeps all of these schools open. Arguing for Option 1 over Option 2 does nothing. The district said on Sept 15 that the options can be combined and that it wants to hear what it missed. What the board heard · Find your school

Get told when something actually happens.

Meeting dates, votes, and changes to the options. Nothing else.

Do you have a child in an MPS school?

Type your address to see what the three options do to the school your child would attend.

Check your school
Most of your neighbors have not heard about this.
Stop the Transformation

An independent community site about Minneapolis Public Schools' "School Transformation" process and the schools it would close. Not affiliated with Minneapolis Public Schools, any school, or any parent foundation.

Our standard

Facts link to their source. Our argument is labeled as argument. Where sources disagree, we show the range. Spot an error? Tell us and we will correct it publicly.