It comes as the district faces a $50 million deficit and difficult financial decisions, including staffing cuts.
Minneapolis Public Schools has incurred $5.3 million in IRS penalties during the past four years, and has paid $770,500 to the federal government so far as it seeks to reduce the charges.
The penalties were referred to briefly in an investigative report released last week involving the district’s withholding of nearly $3 million in employee and district contributions to a health-insurance trust fund.
The concerns over the lack of financial oversight in the district also comes as Minneapolis Public Schools faces a $50.5 million deficit heading into the 2026-27 school year, and is poised to eliminate as many as 187 full-time school positions.
The district now is working with tax specialists and staff with the Center for Effective School Operations to prevent future tax penalties, Ryan Strack, the district’s senior executive officer, wrote in an email provided to the Minnesota Star Tribune on Monday, April 20.
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