After months of debate and emotional testimony, the Robbinsdale School Board voted Monday night to close four district buildings.
It’s a decision that all comes down to budget cuts, and one that will reshape the district.
Educators, families and students are grieving the decision, which comes after a hard financial year. A massive calculating error left Robbinsdale Area Schools tens of millions of dollars in the red to start the school year.
The board approved the closure of Noble Elementary, Sonnesyn Elementary, Robbinsdale Middle School and the district’s Education Service Center at the end of next school year.
At Monday night’s meeting, speaker after speaker asked the board to reconsider, some fighting back tears as they talked about what these schools mean to their families.
“I know you have to make hard decisions about money and buildings, I don’t really understand all of it,” one seventh grader said at Monday’s meeting. “But I do understand without the RMS auditorium, over 80 kids at PMS, plus all the kids from other schools, won’t have a place to perform.”
District leaders say the move is part of a required plan to address more than $8 million in budget restrictions and ongoing operating debt.
“I guess what I want to say about it is that buildings have been closed in the district before. That doesn’t mean that they can’t be reopened,” Board Director Helen Bassett said.
Many speakers focused on what they say will be lost, especially at Sonnesyn, where one teacher said at least 30% of students receive special education services.
“Repeated disruption is not an inconvenience for them, it is harmful,” fourth and fifth grade teacher Nickie Hayes said. “Closing Sonnesyn dismantles systems that took years to build and places students with the highest needs into environments that are not designed nor staffed to support them.”
“Sonnesyn is not just a building, it’s stability, it’s safety, it’s our community,” PTO President Samantha Mellum said.
District leaders say transition planning will begin right away, with boundary changes, staffing shifts and program moves ahead of the 2026 school year.
The district is hosting more public listening sessions as it looks at additional cuts. The next one is happening Monday.