Volume XIII, No. 5
November 2026
Journal of the K-12 Revolution:
Essays and Research from Minneapolis, Minnesota
Abject Financial Irresponsibility:
The Cowardly Retrenchment of
Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams
and the Minneapolis Public Schools
Board of Education on Closing Schools
A Five-Article Series
A Publication of the New Salem Educational Initiative
Gary Marvin Davison, Editor
Abject Financial Irresponsibility:
The Cowardly Retrenchment of
Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams
and the Minneapolis Public Schools
Board of Education on Closing Schools
A Five-Article Series
Gary Marvin Davison
New Salem Educational Initiative
Copyright © 2026
Contents
Introduction
Four Years of Abject Neglect:
Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education
Members Have Known About a Looming
Fiscal Crisis Since November 2022
Article #1
Plans for Closing or Repurposing Buildings Presented on 15 September 2026
Article #2
Important Facts Pertinent to Schools That Were Slated to Be Closed Under the Transformation Plans Presented at the 15 September 2026 Work Session of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education
Article #3
Retrenchment by Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams from Her Own Administration’s Plans for Closing or Repurposing Schools
Article #4
Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams Should Issue Apologies and Resign
Article #5
Transformation at the Minneapolis Public Schools Should Now Involve
Ousting Lisa Sayles-Adams as Superintendent, Installing New Leadership, Then
Focusing Keenly on Knowledge-Intensive Curriculum and the Training of Teachers Capable of Imparting Such a Curriculum
Introduction:
Four Years of Abject Neglect:
Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education
Members Have Known About a Looming
Fiscal Crisis Since November 2022
On 29 November 2022, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Board of Education Finance Committee members received a clear warning from Interim Superintendent Rochelle Cox, Senior Finance Officer Ibrahima Diop, and Executive Budget Director Thom Roethke that MPS was facing a "fiscal crisis" that could reach catastrophic proportions if drastic budgetary changes were not made.
At the time, the approximately $960 million annual budget was balanced, in large measure due to federal relief funds received during the Covid pandemic; but those funds were slated to abate in 2024. Cox and Finance Division officials warned that massive cuts would be necessary to avoid dangerous depletion of the general fund that would put the district into operating debt. The Finance Division’s five-year financial projections indicated that even if enrollment decline could be reversed, expenses would greatly exceed revenue. A fiscal cliff loomed; doing nothing was "not an option"; Roethke said that maintaining the status quo in expenditures and revenue would find the district running out of money by the end of fiscal year 2025.
At that juncture in November, five newly elected board members--- Abdul Abdi (District 1), Collin Beachy (At-Large), Sondra Emerich (At-Large; later to change their given name to Joiner), Faheema Feerayarre (District 3), and Lori Norvell (District 5)--- were due to join the MPS Board of Education in January 2023. Kim Ellison, Board Chair at the time, observed that Senior Finance Officer Diop had been warning members about the looming financial crisis for years and that the issues must be addressed very soon to keep the district sustainable.
Interim Superintendent Cox and Diop conveyed to finance committee members that much of the financial dilemma was due to decreasing enrollment, which at the time had declined seventeen percent, from approximately 34,000 to 28,000 students, over five years. Projections by Diop’s staff indicated that enrollment could decrease to 23,000 students by the 2027-2028 school year.
The key document presented at the November 2022 meeting stated that "MPS must address both the quality of its product as well as work with policymakers and city leaders to address factors outside of its control such as crime, housing prices and transportation issues, if it hopes to stabilize.”
Roethke emphasized that MPS spent $3,900 more on a per-student basis in general operating costs than the average spent by the state's 15 largest districts, largely due to Minneapolis's substantially lower student-to-teacher ratios compared with other districts. The district’s relatively large number and small size of schools produced those lower ratios. "Other districts simply operate fewer, larger schools," Roethke commented.
Interim Superintendent Cox declared that as the next Board and long-term superintendent made the needed changes, they should do so in a way that focused on improved academic quality for the students of the Minneapolis Public Schools.
But the administration of Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams, who began her tenure in February 2024, has failed miserably to address the financial woes of the Minneapolis Public Schools.
This edition of Journal of the K-12 Revolution: Essays and Research from Minneapolis, Minnesota details the culpability of the current administration for failing to address the fiscal crisis of the Minneapolis Public Schools.
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