The documents

Kenny parent Rob Thesing interviewed on The WCCO Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar the morning after the board heard the three closure options. Covers the district's missing progress report on the 2020 Comprehensive District Design, the absence of any published savings figure for the proposed closures, and the risk that closures accelerate the enrollment decline they are meant to answer. Full segment audio.

Our page comparing what was said in the room against the 118 slides: what the district said that is not on the slides, where the two do not match, the questions the board asked and did not get answered, where each member stood, and a table of every question with the substance of the answer. Quotes are verbatim with timestamps.

The full 3-hour-18-minute meeting. Presentation 0:13 to 1:45; board questions 1:45 to 3:17. Key moments: Kenny named at 1:13, 1:14 and 1:15; Callahan's statement and three questions 1:52 to 2:07; Norvell's unanswered size question 2:57; deputy superintendent on savings 3:13. Our summary and question-by-question table are on the Sept 15 Meeting page.

The 118-slide deck presenting three options to optimize the MPS footprint (PDF, about 27 MB; Spanish, Somali and Hmong versions are on the meeting agenda page). Kenny is shown closing in all three: it appears only on the "current" side of the Southwest Pathway diagrams on slides 71-73, and is named as an unprogrammed building on the slide 82 maps. Slide 6 codes Kenny orange, "large enough for MPS student experience, approaching optimal enrollment." Slide 111 moves the district from 59 buildings to 44, 45 and 44. The only savings figure is annual utilities of $560,000 to $705,000 (slide 112). Engagement runs Sept 16 to Oct 16 with a planned vote Nov 10. See our Check the Numbers page for ten problems with the data.

The superintendent's three options. Information item only, no vote and no public comment. The presentation is posted at the time of the meeting.

MPR's report on the Sept 15 work session. As many as 16 buildings could lose their current academic programming, affecting 12 to 14 percent of students through mergers or boundary changes. The district plans to collect feedback through mid-October before a November board vote, with changes possible in 2027-28. Director Callahan objected that school communities were notified before the board voted on any option. The story does not name individual schools.

Preview of the three options. Under 70% enrollment counts as underutilized; three middle schools near 50%; seven of eight high schools at 60% or lower. No schools named.

Explains the Nov 3, 2026 constitutional amendment raising the Permanent School Fund payout from about 2.5% of the fund's value to 4.5% of a three-year average, moving per-pupil distributions from about $68 to about $101. Passed the House 134-0. For MPS that is roughly $1 million a year, about 2.5% of the 2026-27 shortfall. Director Callahan cited it at the Sept 15 meeting. Real, helpful, and small.

Kenny's announcement that the Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association (MESPA) named it a 2026 Minnesota School of Excellence.

Lost special education aid, $5.3 million in federal tax penalties, a late audit with adverse findings and $1 million+ in consultants.

More than half of 56 schools under 70% capacity; reserves at $54.5 million, below board policy; quotes from board members, the teachers union ("vehemently against" closures) and candidates.

Enrollment, budget and staffing calendars that constrain timing. Decisions after Nov 10, 2026 would likely push changes to 2028-29. Most caregivers want at least six months' notice of a change.

Parameter questions put to the board, including whether it will "acknowledge that there is a minimum enrollment size." Sets the calendar: options in September, feedback September to November, decisions in November 2026.

Six vacant buildings; sales slow and small; an empty elementary costs $50,000-$80,000 a year to maintain; 2026-27 deficit $39.7 million.

K-8 research and a school-size table: the K-5 portion of a K-8 at a school under 70% free/reduced lunch needs 485-795 students. This is the only K-5 size figure in the public record we reviewed.

Ten-year enrollment projection (little growth or decline), the five transformation parameters, an example building utilization target of 80-90% of operating capacity, and a proposed rule that no building be below the minimum program size by 2030-31.

How the School of Excellence designation works: a school self-study, action planning and review against national standards, recognized by MDE and the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

The 2020 redesign averted closures, but busing costs rose, racially isolated schools went from 20 to 21 instead of down to 8, and K-12 enrollment fell from 32,023 to about 28,900.

Roll-call votes: resolution adopted 7-1 (Emerick nay, Skjefte absent); "sweet spot = efficient at 70-89% capacity" amendment failed 2-6 (Callahan and Emerick aye). Also records an enrollment update showing a third straight year of district growth.

Defines transformation and asks the superintendent for information on 13 topics, starting with a cost/benefit analysis for any physical changes and covering consolidation, closure and repurposing. Uses the undefined target "sweet spot." Note: the posted PDF omits the "Heritage Language Programs" amendment the minutes record as adopted 8-0.

Consistent attendance 90.3% (district 64.1%, state 75.5%) in 2024. Students meeting standards in 2025: math 84.0%, reading 81.5%, science 60.5%. 100% of surveyed students agree teachers care about them.

Summary of the physical space study: about 29 of 58 buildings below efficiency; Southwest schools named as underused were Burroughs and both Lake Harriet campuses.

The district's own profile of Kenny from the physical space study: built 1954, 60,104 sq ft, design enrollment ~389, 295 students (76%, rated "efficient"), 13.6% free/reduced lunch, no air conditioning or kitchen, rated poor condition in 2017, $4.1M in capital spending 2014-2023.

Explains the end of $259 million in federal COVID relief and states that "despite decreases in student enrollment over the past ten years, proportionate changes in the operational structure of our district have not been made."

Review of closure research: districts often overestimate savings and underestimate transition and transportation costs; building sales bring in less than projected; closures strain community cohesion.

First reading of the School Transformation Resolution, adopted the following month as Resolution 2023-0072.

Small school subsidy of $200 per student for schools projected under 250 students. Asks: "What is the place of small schools in our district?"

The district's review of its 2020 redesign. Sets programming thresholds of 300 (elementary), 400 (middle) and 600 (high). Reports elementary schools under 300 increased by one after the redesign and transportation savings came in below projections.

After Chicago closed 50 schools in 2013, displaced students' math stayed about two months behind four years later, with the largest GPA hit in grades 3-5.

Savings from closures in six cities were relatively small in the context of big-city budgets; closed buildings were hard to sell. Pew's director: savings were "under a million dollars per school."