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Asked how much of the deficit the plan solves, Deputy Superintendent Ty Thompson told the board: "it's not something that's like a huge cost savings... that hasn't been the intent" (3:13 into the recording). Director Callahan asked for per-school savings and got no answer.

Slide 6 colors Kenny orange: "large enough for MPS student experience, approaching optimal enrollment." Slide 25 says only buildings that are not large enough get merged. The presenter said a building can't be orange unless it can host inclusive special education and enough enrollment.

Director Norvell asked for each school's enrollment against the optimal-size number (2:57). No one answered. The deck never prints the threshold. The board is being asked to close 15 or 16 buildings against a number it has not seen.

Asked whether the board can combine pieces of different options, the deputy superintendent said "we actually think that that's okay" (1:50), and that the district wants feedback on things it "hadn't thought of" (2:27). An option that keeps Kenny open is what it hasn't thought of.

In 2025, 84.0% of Kenny students met state math standards and 81.5% met reading standards. Across MPS, about 36% met math standards and 41% met reading standards.

Kenny was named a 2026 Minnesota School of Excellence by the Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association, a recognition that requires a rigorous self-study and peer review.

Third-party ranking sites place Kenny in roughly the top 1% of Minnesota elementary schools in recent years, up from well outside the top 100 a decade ago.

Kenny had 312 students on the official Oct 1, 2025 state count, in a building designed for about 389. That is 80%, inside the 70-90% range MPS's building report calls "efficient." The district is still using 295 from Oct 2024. Hale has 314 students and stays open in all three options.

MPS closed Tuttle in 2007 and was still trying to sell it in 2026. An empty elementary costs the district $50,000-$80,000 a year just to maintain. Across 12 big cities, Pew found more closed school buildings sitting unused than sold or reused.

Research has found associations between school closures and lower home values and weaker neighborhood cohesion, though cause and effect is hard to prove. Local businesses also lose the daily traffic of families and staff.

A 2026 Stanford study of every California district found closures did not improve budgets: districts lost students, and revenue fell about as much as spending. About 25,000 Minneapolis students already attend school outside MPS, and state funding follows each one.