Take action
The vote is planned for Nov 10. The district's survey closes Oct 16. On Sept 15 the district said it wants to hear what it missed, and that the board can combine options. Nine things that reach decision-makers, most of them under five minutes.
- GoRead what the board heard on Sept 155 min
- Take the district's survey (open through Oct 16)5 min
- GoComplete the MFPS Survey to hold the board accountable to families5 min
- Email the board3 min
- Call board members1 min per call
- Text three neighbors2 min
- Attend your pathway's community meeting (Sept 30 to Oct 9, see dates below)1 evening
- Speak at the Oct 13 board meeting2 min at the mic
- Sign up for updates30 sec
- Vote Nov 3Election day
The surveys that matter
Two surveys are open right now: the district's own, and an independent one from MFPS to hold the board accountable to families. Both take a few minutes. Do both.
Open Sept 16 to Oct 16. The district said on Sept 15 that it will report who it heard from on Oct 20, and that it plans to focus outreach on the 12% to 14% of students it calls "impacted." Families at every school on the list are in that group. Make sure the district hears from all of them.
- 1Name your school every time. The survey may ask about options, not schools. Name it anyway.
- 2Ask the board to stop the Nov 10 vote, and to wait for the newly elected board and for published goals to fix the budget.
- 3Point at the district's own map: slide 6 codes seven buildings that close in all three options orange, "large enough for MPS student experience." Slide 25 says only buildings that are not large enough get merged.
- 4Ask the question the board asked and didn't get answered: what enrollment number makes a school "optimally sized?"
- 5Ask for the per-school savings Director Callahan requested, given that the district now says closures are "not a huge cost savings."
- 6One personal sentence. How your family gets to school, what changes for your block.
The survey opens on ThoughtExchange. The interactive map is on the district's transformation page. Questions can also go to answers@mpls.k12.mn.us.
A separate, independent survey to hold the board accountable to families, outside the district's own process. Answer honestly about how the plan affects your school and your family.
Write the board in 3 minutes
Build a personal letter, then send it from your own email. It goes to the whole School Board, and you can copy your own board member and the Superintendent's office. The nine elected members decide.
Figures in the letter come from the district's Sept 15 presentation. Find your school on the school list.
Make a 60-second call
Every board member's number is below, with the Superintendent's office and the three at-large members first. Add your name and the script fills in. Tap a number to call from your phone, then tap "I called" to keep track.
Hello, my name is [your name] and I live in Minneapolis. I am calling about the School Transformation plan and the closure vote planned for Nov 10. My ask is this: stop the Nov 10 vote. Wait for the newly elected board and for published goals to fix the budget. The district's own Sept 15 presentation colors seven buildings that close in all three options as large enough for the MPS student experience. Deputy Superintendent Ty Thompson told the board that closures are "not something that's like a huge cost savings" and that "that hasn't been the intent." No school-by-school savings have been published. Please stop the Nov 10 vote. Thank you for your time.
Numbers from MPS. [School Board] [Administration] [Contact]. Six of the board numbers are not district office lines and may ring a member directly, so call during the day and keep it to the script. Voicemail is fine. Be brief and polite: board members remember who persuaded them.
Text your neighbors
Most families haven't heard about this yet. Tap "Text" to open a message ready to send.
Help more people find this
Most families still do not know their school is on the list. Three things that help more than anything else right now.
- 1Send stopthetransformation.com to two families at your school and two at another school. This affects every Minneapolis neighborhood.
- 2Post the link in your neighborhood group. Every pathway in the city has schools on the list.
- 3If you talk to a reporter, lead with the district's own numbers. The strongest fact is that the district has not reported on its 2020 reorganization since January 2023.
Coverage so far: The WCCO Morning News, Sept 16, 2026.
Talking points
For letters, calls, public comment or a conversation at pickup. Each one links to its source.
Asked how much of the deficit the plan solves, Deputy Superintendent Ty Thompson told the board that closures are "not something that's like a huge cost savings... that hasn't been the intent" (3:13 into the recording).
Resolution 2025-0045 required a cost/benefit analysis. Director Callahan asked for per-school savings on Sept 15 and got no answer.
The district's map colors seven buildings orange, "large enough for MPS student experience": Kenny, Lake Harriet Lower, Hmong International Academy, Anwatin, Bethune, Field and Heritage Academy. All seven close in all three options. Slide 25 says only buildings without a large enough footprint are merged.
Slide 112 puts the savings at $560,000 to $705,000 a year in utilities, against a $39.7 million shortfall in 2026-27. No other savings figure appears in the deck.
The district's own map codes the planned new Anishinabe Academy building red, "too small for MPS student experience."
Slide 94 prints two counts of 2025-26 Minneapolis kindergartners on the same page: 5,369 predicted and 3,978 actual.
Public input on a decision affecting 14 to 15 buildings runs Sept 16 to Oct 16, about 30 days. The vote is planned for Nov 10.
Five of nine board seats are on the Nov 3 ballot, and new members are seated in January 2027. The current board would vote one week after the election. Stop the Nov 10 vote. Wait for the newly elected board and for published goals to fix the budget.
A 2026 Stanford study of every California district found closing schools did not improve district budgets: revenue fell about as much as spending.
- Greta Callahan, District 6greta.callahan@mpls.k12.mn.us
- Collin Beachy, Chair, at-largecollin.beachy@mpls.k12.mn.us
- Kim Ellison, Vice Chair, at-largekim.ellison@mpls.k12.mn.us
- Joyner Emerick, at-largejoyner.emerick@mpls.k12.mn.us
- Full School BoardSchoolBoard@mpls.k12.mn.us
- Superintendent's officempssup@mpls.k12.mn.us
Write to board members and the Superintendent directly, one message each or with the board copied. Personal emails sent directly tend to get more attention than one message blind-copied to dozens of district staff. All board members
Speak at a board meeting
Comment happens at regular business meetings at the Davis Center, 1250 W Broadway Ave. Work sessions have no public comment. Oct 13 is the meeting where Director Callahan asked the district to answer her three questions; if the answers are not there, say so at the mic. Priority: students, then caregivers and staff speaking to agenda items, then others in order received. [MPS]
- 0:00-0:15Who you are, your school, and your connection to it.
- 0:15-0:45One fact the board may not have in mind, like the deputy superintendent's Sept 15 statement that closures are "not a huge cost savings," or that seven buildings coded large enough on the district's own map close in all three options.
- 0:45-1:30One short personal story.
- 1:30-2:00One specific ask, like publishing school-by-school savings before any vote.
Bring a printed copy for the board clerk. Stay factual and respectful: board members remember who persuaded them.
Upcoming dates
Stay informed
We'll email when options, meeting dates or votes change.