MinnPost’s Twin Cities Documenters program trains and pays community members to take notes at local government meetings. Below are Documenter Al Zdon’s summary and observations from the Minneapolis Board of Education’s Finance Committee meeting on April 28, where the board learned an additional $10 million in revenue for Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) has been identified for both this school year and next. You can find our full notes here and an audio recording here.

Related: Documenters report: MPS considers bringing back K-8 schools

Summary:  

• The committee received a presentation on the budget development process and learned staff have corrected an error in how special education expenses are coded, which revealed an additional $10 million in revenue for both this school year and next. Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams said the money would be used, in part, to restore some of the critical support positions eliminated in the 2026-27 budget.
  • The district had made cuts in counselors, social workers, adult education teachers, and library specialists throughout the district.
  • After coding corrections, the district expects to receive $10.7 million more than projected in state funding this year, and a $10.8 million increase next year. This means the budget gap has been reduced from $50 million to about $39.7 million.
  • The committee will meet again May 5 to discuss how the funds will be spent. Some potential areas that were identified:
    • Restoring some student support positions at “racially identifiable schools,” which are defined as having a population of students of color that is 20 percentage points higher than the district’s average for the same grade levels.
    • Provide money for adult education.
    • Additional support for the Longfellow Alternative High School, a school that specializes in supporting teen parents. 
    • Covering insurance expense increases.
• The committee received a presentation on the district’s plan to restore its fund balance to 8 percent, as required by board policy. The fund balance has dipped to 7.7 percent.
• The committee reviewed a corrective action plan for school finances following the recent audit report. Most of the corrections will be in how transactions are made, with sign-offs at several levels.
• The committee reviewed the March financial statements, which showed that food service is running about $4.1 million behind. Staff noted a deficit for food service has been the norm for the past several years, and that this year’s loss was exacerbated by the Metro Surge and the absence of many students who might have eaten meals. In the end, the deficit will have to be covered by the general fund.

Observations and follow up questions: 

Accessibility: Did you face any challenges that made it harder to document the meeting or that may have made it difficult for others to attend? For example: trouble accessing the location, difficulty hearing the discussion, lack of nameplates for elected officials, or the agenda being unclear, disorganized, or incomplete.

Scene: About how many members of the public attended the meeting? If watching virtually, what was the livestream count (if applicable)? Was anyone protesting outside? 

Notable: Do you have any follow up questions or other observations to share? What stood out to you as interesting or confusing? Is there anything you’d like to see reporters look further into? Were there any particularly memorable quotes?

• This is the second time in three years MPS has found out that it was getting an additional $10 million due to not requesting enough reimbursement from the state for special education.  

Related: Documenters report: MPS hears concerns from American Indian parents

How to get involved:

A special meeting is planned for May 5 for the Finance Committee. No time has been set. You can find updated meeting information here.

More context:

Read Documenter Al Zdon’s full notes here and an audio recording here. View our full database of notes here.

Want to become a Documenter? You can start by making an account here.

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