Article #5 >>>>> >Journal of the K-12 Revolution: Essays and Research from Minneapolis, Minnesota<, Volume XIII, Number 1, July 2026

My Public Comments to a Hopeless Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education and Inept Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams at the Regular Business Meeting of Tuesday, 28 July 2026

 

 

A Regular Business Meeting of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education occurred on 28 July 2026, earlier than usual in the summer.  We have primaries in Minnesota on 11 August, so the meeting was held this year in the month of July that is usually (blessedly) taken off;  the statute prohibiting school board and other government meetings taking place during the hours of and on the day of the primary would not seem to have forestalled a meeting on 4 August (the first Tuesday of the month), so for some reason 28 July must have worked out better for the members of the Board.

 

My Public Comments at this meeting went as follows >>>>>

 

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Gary Marvin Davison, New Salem Educational Initiative, just a 12-minute walk from the Davis Center, teaching students academically abused by the Minneapolis Public Schools for at least four and half decades.  And the abuse gets heavier all the time:

 

The most recent MCA (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment) data indicates that the percentage of MPS students proficient in mathematics is 35%, and in Reading 42%.  For Hispanic, Native American, and African American students, in no category do these students reach above 15% academic proficiency.  You are always complaining about the underfunding of public education;  but given the great number of government funding priorities, making a case for providing additional funding for an institution producing such terrible results should be a forlorn attempt.

 

And the financial woes of the district are your fault:

 

Long ago you should have evaluated building usage, given a situation in which student populations in at least nine schools languish at less than 50% student enrollment by comparison with building capacity.  Central office staff reductions will never be the key to balancing a budget, since 87% of district expenses go for salaries to districtwide staff, mostly teachers, education support professionals, and building administrators;  however, such reductions would free up several million dollars to meet other budgetary needs, as well as symbolizing a proper sense of priorities at a time of economic crisis.

 

But in fact, although the administration has implied in various statements that central office reductions have been made, that is decidedly untrue.  Staffing at the Davis Center in May 2026 was at 580, more than the 571 of September 2025, and essentially a figure similar to those witnessed amidst seasonal fluctuations for many months.

 

And as to the financial woes, the administration and Board have unconscionably attempted to shift the blame by impugning the reputation of former MPS finance officials who in fact year after year secured the highest bond rating for the district, properly maintained an unassigned fund balance of at least eight percent (8%), creatively utilized ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds when they were available during COVID, and provided funding for each academic year.

 

The key vexations of the Minneapolis Public Schools are knowledge-deficient curriculum as actually delivered and poor teaching at the median.

 

I have multiple platforms for conveying facts pertinent to the Minneapolis Public Schools, including my blog.  Anyone who wants to understand better the lamentable current situation at the Minneapolis Public Schools, can start, then, by going to 

http://www.newsalemeducation.blogspot.com

 

 

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The meeting was short in the extreme, with the main presentation coming from lobbyist Josh Downham, who referred to a mere nine-page document giving an update on legislative funding.

 

Questions and comments from members of the Board on this presentation and other matters indicate that there is no hope of making the necessary changes for academic improvement as long as this Board membership and this superintendent (Lisa Sayles-Adams) are in place.