Article #3
Communications with Minneapolis Public Schools Officials Three Weeks After Issuing MPS Data Request #26-511
Three weeks after my first follow-up communication to MPS Data Requests, I issued the following message:
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October 26, 2026
Kimberly & Jamie/MPS Data Request Staff---
Twenty-one days have now transpired since I issued Public Data Request #26-511 asking for Davis Center staff listed by position and salary. In prior administrations Scott Weber easily provided this information within a day or two.
I received Kimberly's acknowledgement of my follow-up inquiry and also Jamie's substantial email detailing the reasons for current delays.
Nevertheless, three weeks since issuance of the request I have no reply giving the information requested. This is unacceptable for a request that merely requires the touching of cursor to screen on the part of Scott Weber or whoever is currently responding to requests for Davis Center Staff by position and salary.
I appreciate Jamie's explanations; however, under conditions of short staffing and the great number of requests received, adjustments should be made to ferret out for priority those requests that can be fulfilled so extremely easily.
Please fulfill the indicated request, made three weeks ago, with all merited attention and alacrity.
With best regards---
Gary
Gary Marvin Davison, Ph.D.
Director, New Salem Educational Initiative
2507 Bryant Ave North
Minneapolis MN 55411
(Cell) 507-301-9902
http://www.newsalemeducation.blogspot.com
Author,
Understanding the Minneapolis Public Schools: Current Condition, Future Prospect (New Salem Educational Initiative, second edition, 2026
Foundations of an Excellent Liberal Arts Education (New Salem Educational Initiative, 2026)
A Concise History of African America (Seaburn, 2004
The State of African Americans in Minnesota 2004 (Minneapolis Urban League, 2008
The State of African Americans in Minnesota 2008 (Minneapolis Urban League, 2004)
Tales from the Taiwanese (Libraries Unlimited, 2004)
A Short History of Taiwan: The Case for Independence (Praeger, 2003)
Culture and Customs of Taiwan ([with Barbara E. Reed] (Greenwood, 1998)
Agricultural Development and the Fate of Farmers in Taiwan, 1945-1990 (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Ph. D. Dissertation, University of Minnesota, 1993)
A World History: Links Across Time and Place ([with six other authors] (McDougal Littell, 1988)
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This Time, General Counsel Jamie Jonassen replied as follows:
Good morning, Mr. Davison -
Thank you so much for your interest in Minneapolis Public Schools. I can assure you that MPS is diligently working on data requests as they come into the District. I want to provide some context that I hope will be helpful. At the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year, the Office of General Counsel cut a paralegal position. Although this predates my time at MPS, I understand that this cut was due to district-wide budget cuts. At the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year, the Office of General Counsel cut a data practices supervisory attorney position - a position devoted almost exclusively to responding to data requests - due to district-wide budget cuts.
Compounding these staffing reductions, MPS is receiving substantially more data requests this year. For context, between January 1, 2023, and October 1, 2023, MPS received roughly 120 data requests in the NextRequest portal. Between January 1, 2024, and October 1, 2024, MPS received roughly 244 data requests in the NextRequest portal. Similar to 2024, between January 1, 2025, and October 1, 2025, MPS received roughly 230 data requests in the NextRequest portal.
Comparatively, between January 1, 2026, and October 1, 2026, MPS received 493 data requests in the NextRequest portal.
I do appreciate your patience and hope this information is helpful to understanding why a reasonable response time may be slower than prior years. Again, I can assure you that MPS is working diligently to respond to all data requests as they come in.
Thank you,
Jamie Jonassen | General Counsel | (she/her/hers)
Minneapolis Public Schools | Office of the General Counsel
John B. Davis Education Service Center | 1250 W Broadway, Minneapolis, MN 55411
jamie.jonassen@mpls.k12.mn.us | mpschools.org
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