A night filled with passionate pleas and distracting demonstrations ended with the Minneapolis Public Schools superintendent sharing that there may be fewer cuts than originally expected to address a $75 million budget shortfall. 

At a point during the public comment portion of the MPS board meeting, outside the board chamber, a loud and distracting demonstration filled the hallways — chants of “half is not enough” were accompanied by the beating of drums. 

As the meeting continued on, many community members shared concerns with the proposed cuts to staff and programs. 

“It is going to scare people families away who have been so excited about coming to school when they see class sizes of 30.  Kindergarteners, 5 year olds, need to have attention from teacher, they need to feel seen and connected,” Abby Armstrong, a MPS parent, said to the board and superintendent.

Before the budget discussion, Superintendent Dr. Lisa Sayles-Adams addressed the main concern of the day: 102 special education staff cuts. Citing third-party funding — from things like Medicaid and insurance providers — Dr. Sayles-Adams shared that they may be able to cut that number in half. 

“Following the review process, our final budget proposal will include an additional 57 special education assistants, or SEA positions, in various schools across the district. Plus 10 additional teachers in our [autism classrooms],” Sayles-Adams said during the meeting. 

When asked about the special education staffing, MPS provided the following statement:

“Minneapolis Public Schools continues to work through its annual budget process which culminates in a school board vote on June 10. Staffing is a component of that process. At this time, we have not yet finalized specific information about all positions. Initially, MPS proposed reducing 102 special education assistant positions, but is now proposing a reduction of 45 special education assistant positions. Information will continue to be shared at school board meetings and via our FY26 Budget Webpage.”

Second grader Lars Crozier and his dad, Daniel Dengnan, were in attendance on Tuesday.

Crozier uses a wheelchair, is nonverbal and relies on a one-on-one special education assistant all day. His family is worried that there are as many as six special education positions that could get cut at Dowling Elementary School, where he attends.

“It’s a safety concern, it’s a human rights issue,” said Dengnan.

“We won’t get these years back,” he said.