my vision
A strategic roadmap built on accountability, transparency, and student-centered results.
A strategic roadmap built on accountability, transparency, and student-centered results.
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.
It is critical to return MPS to a long term strategic planning framework instead of short term financial maenouvers. 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.
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 Promised financial studies have gone unfinished or unpublished, including analysis of the costs and potential savings associated with operating 30–40% more school capacity than enrollment requires.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.
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.
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.
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.