District overview
Saint Paul Public Schools
How Saint Paul Public Schools is funded, governed, and what is happening at board meetings.
Why is Saint Paul Public Schools borrowing tens of millions of dollars for buildings, and what comes next?
Like other Minnesota districts, most of SPPS's operating money comes from the state's per-pupil funding formula plus a locally set property tax levy. Separately, the board has been issuing a series of General Obligation bonds and Certificates of Participation, each authorized by board vote rather than a public referendum, to pay for building and facilities maintenance work district-wide -- $76 million approved in September 2025 alone, on top of roughly $49 million approved the year before. At the same time, the district launched a formal Facilities Portfolio Analysis in mid-2026 after being shown demographic projections that enrollment could fall to about 10,000 students within a decade, in a system with school buildings sized for roughly 50,000 -- work that is expected to bring recommendations on building closures, repurposing, or reconfigurations to the board by summer 2027.
State formula plus local levy
General operating revenue comes mainly from Minnesota's per-pupil state aid formula, topped up by a board-certified local property tax levy.
Facilities work is funded through board-approved borrowing, not a public vote
The bonds and Certificates of Participation used to pay for building and maintenance projects are authorized directly by board roll-call vote; they are a different funding mechanism from the operating budget or a public bond referendum.
A steep enrollment decline is projected
District demographic projections presented to the board in August 2026 show enrollment potentially falling to roughly 10,000 students over the next decade, in buildings designed to hold about 50,000.
A task force is reviewing the district's building footprint
A 37-member Facilities Portfolio Analysis task force, launched in June 2026 and facilitated by the Wilder Foundation, is expected to recommend school modifications, closures, repurposing, or reconfigurations to the board by summer 2027.
None of this means specific schools have been chosen for closure: as of this page's collection date, the task force had not yet reached recommendations, and district staff told the board that some excess building capacity is deliberately maintained as a operational buffer (for example, to serve as a 'swing school' if a building has an emergency).
Where the district stands
Major projects
Multi-year facilities bond and financing program
Ongoing, multiple series issuedA sequence of General Obligation bond and Certificates of Participation issuances funding building and facilities maintenance work district-wide, including the Humboldt Senior High School air-handling-unit replacement.
- Board approved $49,000,000 in Series 2025B GO bonds and $27,000,000 in Series 2025A Certificates of Participation.
- Board authorized up to $17,900,000 in Series 2026A Certificates of Participation.
- Board acted on a resolution for $40,900,000 in Series 2026B GO bonds.
- Board stated official intent to proceed with up to $48,400,000 in GO facilities maintenance bonds and up to $15,000,000 in GO school building bonds for the FY28 Long-Term Facilities Maintenance program, pending Minnesota Department of Education review.
Funding
Board-approved General Obligation bonds and Certificates of Participation (debt service repaid via the district's levy and other revenue, not a separate voter referendum)
Facilities Portfolio Analysis (school building footprint review)
In progress; task force convened, no recommendations yetA 37-member task force reviewing the district's building footprint against a projected steep enrollment decline, expected to recommend school modifications, closures, repurposing, or reconfigurations.
- Process initiated under the Senior Executive Officer, facilitated by the Wilder Foundation (exact start date approximate; described in the board's August 5, 2026 briefing as begun in June).
- Board received a detailed status update, including the enrollment projection and task force mandate.
Funding
Not stated in the collected record
Cell phone and personal electronic device policy (Policy 550.00)
In its first year of districtwide implementationA districtwide policy restricting student cell phone and personal device use during the school day, with different rules at elementary versus secondary schools.
- Board received a first-year implementation update from Assistant Superintendent Nancy Páez and school principals.
Funding
N/A (policy, not a funded capital project)
Recent news
This page is built from Saint Paul Public Schools Board of Education agendas and approved minutes collected from the board's public BoardBook meeting archive (meetings.boardbook.org), covering the trailing 12 months. Minutes are the official approved PDF minutes; agendas are the board's own item-by-item public agenda text.
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