The district was built to serve about 40,000 students, but currently enrolls about 28,000.
Roethke pointed out that other large Minnesota districts use fewer, larger schools to reduce costs.
The district’s most recent five-year budget projectionpredicts an “imminent financial crisis” due to declining enrollment and a failure to cut costs. If the district’s leaders continue with the existing “footprint, practices, policies, and priorities… we expect the district to confront an unprecedented fiscal crisis in the 2024-2025 school year,” the report said.
If no action is taken, the general fund will be depleted sometime in 2025 and the district will quickly descend into the red, triggering state intervention.
“Without significant changes, MPS will run out of money during the 2024-2025 school year and be unable to operate as it does now,” the report said.