Counterpoint: Minneapolis school closures not yet a done deal

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I was eager to read the July 15 commentary from District 61A legislative candidate Katie Jones, “What’s good for Minneapolis is good for Minnesota,” because I’m a born and raised Minneapolitan and proud Minnesotan. However, as a candidate for Minneapolis school board in District 6 (southwest Minneapolis), I was alarmed that she stated that the school board voted this month to close schools.

The fact is the school board has discussed school closures and consolidations as part of the “school transformation” process, but the decision is far from a final vote. While the need to dramatically reduce expenses has been on the district’s radar for years, it wasn’t until last December that current school board directors passed a resolution to explore closures as an option. This resolution stated that “resources [must be] invested for the greatest direct benefit of students, which may require schools to be repurposed, consolidated, and closed.” In the meantime, the Minneapolis Public Schools passed a budget for next school year that includes significant staffing cuts and still requires depleting $55 million of “rainy day funds” just to make ends meet. At the May 28 MPS school board meeting during the final reading of next year’s budget, current District 6 director Ira Jourdain pointedly said, “We have effectively run out the clock. We don’t have the resources to do another year of this, no matter what comes from the state.”

Yes, we do need increased funding to public schools from the state, but as Jones pointed out, the historic funding to education during the 2023 legislative session came after decades of organizing and advocacy. It’s going to take more than one session to solve the problem caused by over two decades of underfunding. The MPS doesn’t have that time. We have an urgent responsibility to do right by our kids now.

It is our responsibility as a city to see that every single child that enters the doors of our public schools comes out with everything they need to be the best people and citizens they can be. That means we need things like quality early childhood experiences, evidence-based literacy instruction, and sustainable solutions to reduce class sizes and improve working conditions for educators.

School closures and consolidations must be considered because we have a simple problem of economies of scale. For example, at the school my kids attend, we are just a handful of students away from having enough enrollment to support the hiring of another classroom teacher. The school in the attendance zone next to ours is projected to have some of the highest class sizes in the district next year. Neither of our buildings is operating anywhere close to full capacity. If we combined our students and resources into one building, we would be able to have lower class sizes for everyone in addition to full-time specialists and more education support professionals to support individualized learning.

So, let’s not just be critics, let’s be courageous problem-solvers. There are brilliant people — adults and students alike — inside our schools right now in the MPS, and they need our support. If we expect the best from our schools, then let’s ask ourselves, what are we doing to make that vision a reality?

We have challenges facing our schools that are not theirs alone to solve. Some solutions are simple and can be implemented tomorrow, like connecting volunteers to be reading tutors since the MPS can’t fund enough reading interventionists to support the majority of MPS students who cannot read at grade level. Some solutions require more planning, like turning empty buildings into early childhood service hubs or affordable housing. But none of it will get done until we all take responsibility for it.

As an educator and parent myself, I understand deeply that our students, families and educators have weathered unimaginable challenges in recent years. We need everyone in Minneapolis to come together to help reimagine the future of our schools and our city. When we dare to dream of a brighter future for the Minneapolis Public Schools and take decisive action — together — to make that dream a reality, we will have a strong, thriving Minneapolis. To quote Alice Walker, “We are the ones we have been waiting for.”

Lara Bergman is a candidate for the Minneapolis school board in District 6.