Michael Baskins (At-Large)
Michael Baskins garnered the fourth most votes (9,518 [7.5%) in the 11 August Primary for the two available at-large seats on the Minneapolis Public Schools Board or Education.
The following is information obtained mostly from Baskins's website:
Letter to the Community
Hello Neighbors,
I wanted to explain my decision to run for Minneapolis School Board- At Large. This was not a decision taken lightly or rashly. I have been increasingly concerned about the performance of the current School Board and MPS Administration. As I watched local school board meetings over the past few years, I’ve seen a School Board that routinely fails in its oversight duties of the Administration. I’ve seen a School Board that asks no questions and has no feedback for the Administration routinely during their meetings. I’ve seen a School Board asleep at the wheel. I was further dismayed when year after year the MPS Board has failed to formulate a long term strategic plan for the financial stability of the district. I’ve seen a lack of enthusiasm to come up with financial solutions. In 2024 the School Board promised to do a financial analysis on the benefits of closing or consolidating the many half empty schools in the district. We are still waiting for this report. For many, including myself, we have had enough of this School Board that is asleep at the wheel.
We’ve recently seen MPS schools operating at 10% of student capacity but being renovated for millions of dollars. We’ve seen the whole financial department fired while the Administration and School Board have “no comment” and local whistleblowers suggest massive financial negligence or worse. We’ve seen Math and Reading proficiency continue to decline over the last 10 years and remaining persistently near the bottom in the State. We’ve seen mass MPS layoffs and rehiring every few years. We’ve seen MPS relying on short term financing and hail marry financing from the state, local, or millage levels to keep the system going.
Parents and would-be parents like myself should be worried about the trajectory of MPS. And of course, all of these problems cannot be blamed on a single person or decision. But in order to make progress toward a better tomorrow we need a School Board willing to ask the hard questions and be 100% transparent and accountable to the public. We need School Board that doesn’t accept that MPS will always be an underachieving district but a Board that believes that Minneapolis can be a top performing school district and works tirelessly to make it so.
I care deeply about the City of Minneapolis and the immense duty that Public Schools are entrusted with to educate and shape our youth. I am worried that the Administration is not living up to this sacred duty.
I would be honored if you voted for me to represent you as Minneapolis School Board Member- At Large. Know that I will ask the hard questions and always be transparent and accountable with you the student, parents, and residents of our GREAT city.
Vision
Ensure all Decisions are Student Centered, Data Driven
Student academic achievement and character development are THE MISSION and always the top priority. I will be laser focused on ensuring a data driven approach to looking at student achievement both in and outside the classroom. Data is not just numbers but conversations with students, parents, and teachers to understand what is and is not working.
Improve the Working Environment for Our Teachers
Teachers are our most important resource to accomplish our mission. Investing in retaining our high quality teachers by maintaining a stable workforce, a competitive pay package, and accountability for administrator performance is critical. Attracting new talent into the district through competitive incentives and a supportive work culture needs to be tracked and improved.
Provide Transparency in All District Matters with the Public
MPS has faced a number of scandals recently including the laying off of the entire Finance Department, allegations of financial negligence or worse, however the School Board has not communicated at all with the public on this topic. It is critical that the School Board be transparent with the public.
Ensure Long Term Strategic Planning
It is critical to return MPS to a long term strategic planning framework instead of short term financial maneuvers. MPS has had a chaotic environment with yearly layoffs and large changes to the student experience yearly due to the short term planning of the current administration. Clear and transparent strategic goals and a framework to achieve year over year improvements in student performance and student enrollment for the district are needed. The School Board and administration should be held accountable to hitting these targets.
Provide Accountability and Oversight of All Administrative Decisions
Ask the hard questions and demand accountability from MPS administration. The School Board should carefully review major program changes, capital investments, staffing decisions, and strategic plans to ensure they serve students and support long-term success. Too often, the current Board accepts administrative decisions without sufficient scrutiny or public explanation. Promised financial studies have gone unfinished or unpublished, including analysis of the costs and potential savings associated with operating 30–40% more school capacity than enrollment requires. Greater oversight means asking difficult questions, requiring evidence, and providing the public with clear explanations when major decisions are made.
Ensure Financially Responsible Decision Making
MPS needs a long-term plan to stabilize its finances. The district has repeatedly faced large deficits, layoffs, and requests for additional taxpayer funding without fully pursuing available cost savings. The School Board should complete and publicly release its analysis of excess school capacity and other potential savings, while carefully evaluating major expenditures and investments. The district has also left more than $10 million in available state funding unclaimed due to administrative failures. New taxes and teacher layoffs should be last resorts, not substitutes for finding efficiencies and addressing structural problems. Minneapolis families deserve transparency, responsible budgeting, and a School Board willing to make difficult financial decisions.
Prioritize All Students Needs
All students deserve coursework and instruction that is tailored to their needs. That includes English as a Second language students, Special Needs Students, and High Performing students. MPS students deserve opportunities in both their core and elective coursework that is tailored to their educational needs. Having these options that suit your child are what retains students in our district and keeps MPS from further losing students to charter or suburban.
Parent Engagement
Ensure Parents are engaged in providing feedback and that this feedback is taken seriously. Perform surveys across the district to learn about district experiences and implement corrections.
Schools as Community Centers
Ensure that MPS Schools are neighborhood hubs for after school activities, including arts and sports. Ensure that MPS provides competitive after school activities as compared with our suburban peers and invest in these programs to retain students. Further these resources should be utilized by the broader neighborhood and community where appropriate to make the schools hubs for community engagement.
Meet Michael
About Michael Baskins
I am excited to represent your voices on the Minneapolis School Board as a fierce advocate for residents who are demanding transparency and accountability.
Growing up in the Metro Detroit region of Michigan, I have always been deeply engaged with local politics and grassroots organizing. Over the years, I organized for DFL candidates and served as a leader with Voters Not Politicians—a highly influential citizen-led anti-gerrymandering organization.
My engineering career eventually brought me to Minneapolis in 2018. Upon arrival, I was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the city and the deep civic passion of its people. It didn’t take long for me to decide to make Minneapolis my permanent home—a place where I could truly plant roots and where I hope to one day raise a family of my own.
With a degree in Mechanical Engineering, I have worked as an automotive and aerospace designer for the last ten years. Having engineered systems for major companies like Polaris and Honeywell, my day-to-day experience requires intense collaboration, relationship building, and balancing complex tradeoffs to reach a final solution that all stakeholders can support.
I intend to bring that exact same methodical, focused, and data-driven approach to my leadership on the School Board to ensure our district operates efficiently, transparently, and effectively for our students.
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