Senate Republican Leader David Hann (R-Eden Prairie) recently introduced a bill to split the Minneapolis School District into six smaller districts. The new districts would be free from many of the state educational mandates that sometimes get in the way of learning. The current Minneapolis School Board would be charged with breaking Minneapolis into six smaller districts, with new school boards elected in 2017 and the first day of classes for the new districts in September 2018. If the school board fails to come to an agreement on the new districts, the governor would step in.
“This is a bold idea to solve a big problem,” said Senator Hann. “School leaders come and go, new programs are put in place, funding increases, but one thing stays the same: achievement lags. It’s time to dramatically change the school district structure and give neighborhoods the freedom and the focus to help their children succeed.”
This FAQ provides more specifics regarding the proposal (Senate File 1513).
Minneapolis was chosen for this idea for two reasons. First, they are in a transition period with the resignation of yet another superintendent. Second, persistently low achievement levels and abysmal graduation rates call for structural change in the district. A case could be made for other large districts, such as St. Paul, that show persistently low achievement and graduation rates. Those districts could be included as the legislation progresses.
Minneapolis is already divided into six districts represented by different school board members for their elections. The current enrollment of the Minneapolis School District is 35,400 students, so each of the new districts would have around 6,000 students. Another alternative would be to split the district into seven new districts, one for each Minneapolis high school.
The goal of this proposal is to close the achievement gap for Minneapolis students. While this plan will create six new school boards and six new administrations, it also breaks up a very large bureaucracy with many highly paid staff who currently have little contact with students. In the current Minneapolis School District, there is a Superintendent, six Associate Superintendents, a Chief of Schools, a Chief Operations Officer, a Chief Academic Officer and a Chief of Staff. The goal is to keep the districts large enough to benefit from economies of scale but small enough so the superintendent can actually interact with students and parents.
No. The new districts still have to comply with federal mandates such as meeting the needs of special education students. They would also have to adhere to other mandates that protect the safety of students. The idea of mandate relief is to give the new districts a fresh start and build an education system that works for their neighborhood and their children.
The makeup of the new districts will be determined by the borders created during the redistricting process. The bill charges the current school board with the task of creating the new districts, so those decisions will be made at the local level.
Because of the diversity in the property tax base across the city, the legislation proposes to continue collecting property taxes city-wide, and then divide the revenue equally between the new districts. All current local levies would remain intact and any future levies would need the support of a majority of Minneapolis districts before they are put to the voters for approval. State revenue will continue to flow to the new districts based on the per-pupil formula, including extra revenue for concentrations of poverty.
If the bill passes and is signed into law in 2015, the first year of classes for the new districts would be 2018-19. The current Minneapolis School Board would have until January of 2016 to present a preliminary plan to the public. After public input, a final plan would be submitted in July of 2016. If the school board cannot agree on a plan, the governor would take over the process in January 2017. New board members would stand for election in the six new districts in November of 2017 and begin work in January of 2018.
Minneapolis was chosen for this idea for two reasons. First, they are in a transition period with the resignation of yet another superintendent. Second, persistently low achievement levels and abysmal graduation rates call for structural change in the district. A case could be made for other large districts, such as St. Paul, that show persistently low achievement and graduation rates. Those districts could be included as the legislation progresses.
Minneapolis is already divided into six districts represented by different school board members for their elections. The current enrollment of the Minneapolis School District is 35,400 students, so each of the new districts would have around 6,000 students. Another alternative would be to split the district into seven new districts, one for each Minneapolis high school.
The goal of this proposal is to close the achievement gap for Minneapolis students. While this plan will create six new school boards and six new administrations, it also breaks up a very large bureaucracy with many highly paid staff who currently have little contact with students. In the current Minneapolis School District, there is a Superintendent, six Associate Superintendents, a Chief of Schools, a Chief Operations Officer, a Chief Academic Officer and a Chief of Staff. The goal is to keep the districts large enough to benefit from economies of scale but small enough so the superintendent can actually interact with students and parents.
No. The new districts still have to comply with federal mandates such as meeting the needs of special education students. They would also have to adhere to other mandates that protect the safety of students. The idea of mandate relief is to give the new districts a fresh start and build an education system that works for their neighborhood and their children.
The makeup of the new districts will be determined by the borders created during the redistricting process. The bill charges the current school board with the task of creating the new districts, so those decisions will be made at the local level.
Because of the diversity in the property tax base across the city, the legislation proposes to continue collecting property taxes city-wide, and then divide the revenue equally between the new districts. All current local levies would remain intact and any future levies would need the support of a majority of Minneapolis districts before they are put to the voters for approval. State revenue will continue to flow to the new districts based on the per-pupil formula, including extra revenue for concentrations of poverty.
If the bill passes and is signed into law in 2015, the first year of classes for the new districts would be 2018-19. The current Minneapolis School Board would have until January of 2016 to present a preliminary plan to the public. After public input, a final plan would be submitted in July of 2016. If the school board cannot agree on a plan, the governor would take over the process in January 2017. New board members would stand for election in the six new districts in November of 2017 and begin work in January of 2018.