Responding to initial community feedback

Class sizes

• There would be no change to class size caps as part of the transformation process
• Class size caps are part of a negotiated collective bargaining agreement

Enrollment data

• The linked spreadsheet below contains the following MPS data by school:
  • Tab: SY26 School Enrollments w/ Boundary Details
    • School information, including 2025-26 (SY26) enrollment used for transformation analyses
    • Students enrolled in SY26 that are (1) MPS residents and live inside the attendance area, (2) MPS residents and live outside the attendance area, or (3) non-MPS residents
    • The total number of MPS students who live within the attendance area
    • Students living inside the attendance area that (1) attend an MPS magnet school or (2) another MPS community school
  • Tab: Predicted Enrollment and Range by Option
    • Range of expected enrollment following transformation by option
  • Important notes: 
    • In all options, all current community high school students stay at their current high school through graduation

View transformation enrollment data

Financial information 

• Some inaccurate reporting conflated closing the $39.7 million budget gap as the primary goal of transformation
• MPS had already resolved the $39.7 million budget gap for the current fiscal year when the School Board approved a balanced budget in June 2026 that did not include the use of any one-time funds in the general operating budget
• This gap was closed by making challenging decisions about reductions at both the central office and schools
• MPS, like all school districts, will face continued annual budget challenges whenever expense growth outpaces projected revenue, but we do not have a structural gap as a starting point from the use of one-time funds to balance the general fund budget in the prior year, as has been the case in recent years 
• Neither enrollment growth nor structural changes can completely makeup for the chronic underfunding of public education alone--we must continue to advocate for the resources our students need while we work to address what’s within our control
• The goal of the transformation process is not to reduce expenses; it is to improve the experience for MPS students by concentrating resources and reducing inefficiencies so that we can use the resources we already receive to increase and stabilize what’s offered to students
• For the options developed in response to Resolution 2026-0050, this means that any savings that come from merging or closing schools would be assumed as reinvested back into the remaining schools so students could have more stable and robust supports and services
• Cost modeling projections were done for each option as a whole against the base of the current set of schools “base” (in all instances adding in estimated increases for salaries and benefits for positions) rather than a school-by-school analysis of savings that could be reinvested though a specific program or school closing or merging
• The budget process includes many variables that are not yet known (i.e., enrollment, state and federal funding, grants) so these models are preliminary projections and are subject to change
• The following should be considered when viewing the financial assumptions data spreadsheet linked below:
  • Expenses for school budget allocations for Special Education, Title I, English Learner services funding, a school’s discretionary share of Compensatory Education Revenue, Early Childhood, and Grants were assumed to continue at the same level in the base and in all transformation options, so they were not included in the modeling as they are restricted funding streams that are estimated to continue in roughly the same manner regardless of if any changes are made
  • The expenses modeled on this sheet only represent the comparable portion of staffing that would be most impacted by the school transformation process; it only represents a portion of what a school's total budget allocation would be
  • Cost increases (salary and benefits) were applied to the core positions typically included in school budgets
  • Using these projected position costs, both the base as if there were no school changes made and all three options using the transformation staffing model outlined above were modeled
  • Staffing FTE counts should not be viewed as the total number of positions as there are a significant number of positions from Special Education, Title, EL, and Compensatory Revenue sources
  • These restricted funding sources are budgeted to schools based on student need and on factors like free and reduced meal rates and the positions funded by them are generally determined by the principal and as such are not included in our modeling
  • Only the specialty schools that are in an option as closing or merging are included (in both the base and in the respective options)
• As shown in the summary table below and in the totals column of the tabs for each option, the projected cost is approximately the same as the base when considering the foundational staffing costs and projected savings from transportation and other operational expenses

Financial Modeling Summary

* Reflects school foundational general fund costs, not a total of all school staffing which includes positions funded restricted and other sources not expected to change significantly through transformation (school-by-school data available via the link below)

View transformation financial modeling data

Timeline

• We encourage everyone to share feedback about the proposed timeline in the online survey and at the upcoming community meetings
• The proposed timeline was developed using the following the relevant directives in the School Board's June resolution:
  • Present options by "no later than the end of September 2026"
  • "initial expectation that the Board would finalize the direction in the fall of 2026"
  • "with changes made in time for the 2027-2028 school year"
• Another consideration for any timeline regarding changes to schools is MPS’ enrollment season, which generally opens in mid- to late-November
• Additionally, we heard from a majority of families that at least nine months of notice is requested to prepare for a change, so if anything were to be changed for the 2027-2028 school year, it puts a decision point in either November or December to honor that request