The City Inc. might be shutting its doors

The City Inc., a nonprofit organization that served inner city Minneapolis neighborhoods with alternative schools and advocacy and had prominent roles in public issues and disputes for decades, might be shutting down.

Three City Inc. employees who asked not to be identified said officials said in a meeting this week that the organization's North Side high school would close and that the staff's last day would be Friday. Staffers said officials at the school, which has 40 to 50 students, talked vaguely about attempting to salvage the school but gave no details.

Stan Alleyne, a Minneapolis School District spokesman, said "it's a possibility" that the alternative school could close Friday. The district contracts with The City Inc. to run the school.

"We are going to find out something [Friday] from [The City Inc.'s] board," he said. "If a decision is made to close the school, our district will work quickly and diligently to find appropriate placements for the students who need assistance."

The City Inc. has also partnered with the Minneapolis Urban League to operate in south Minneapolis an alternative high school that has 110 students. Scott Gray, the league's president, said the league will keep the South Side school open, whatever happens to The City Inc.

Fred Easter, The City Inc.'s president, refused to say whether the organization is shutting down. "The City Inc. is facing tough times, and the board is making tough decisions," he said. "It is a fluid situation."

The City Inc. attracted a surge of publicity in the 1980s and early 1990s when it sought to stem the rising gang problem by reaching out to gang members and some gang leaders.

But the execution-style slaying of Minneapolis police officer Jerry Haaf by gang members at a pizza restaurant in 1992 triggered a backlash of criticism against The City Inc. It was forced to retreat from its outreach and advocacy efforts, and it limped along in the past decade, suffering from reduced funding.

"I feel bad for it," said Jim Nelson, who was CEO of the organization for 16 years until 1993. He said he believed The City Inc. never recovered from the aftermath of the Haaf shooting. "If we are going to turn [gang violence] around we will have to dig back into the community with a multiprogram kind of thing," he said. "It just can't be done by the cops alone."

Anne Long, executive director of Plymouth Christian Youth Center, a nonprofit that operates an alternative school, said five to 10 City Inc. students applied Thursday to attend her school. She said her school was informed by e-mail that The City Inc.'s after-school program was closing Friday.

Another place The City Inc. students might enroll is North High School.

The City Inc. received $987,153 during the fiscal year from the school district. It also received $200,000 from Greater Twin Cities United Way to operate its after-school program and a domestic violence program.

Staff librarian Sandy Date did research for this report. Randy Furst • 612-673-7382