The Robbinsdale Public School District board moved this week to pursue transportation reductions it says are needed to help close a multi‑million dollar shortfall tied to statutory operating debt.

After reviewing options, administrators told the board that offering identical Spanish courses at both middle schools could eliminate the need for some magnet bus routes. "If we offer middle school Spanish programming at both PMS and SMS, we can create efficiencies... and we won't need magnet transportation," an administrator said when describing the scheduling fix.

Chair Adams Becker moved that magnet school transportation be taken "off the table" and that the board add an additional school to the closure process to help reach the $1.7 million target; the board voiced approval to enter that process. The motion was procedural: it directed the administration to remove magnet transportation service from the budget conversation and to publish related closure notices and timeline for hearings.

Separately the board voted to eliminate Minneapolis open‑enrollment transportation, reducing a line item administrators estimated at about $363,000. Board members discussed prior instances in which cutting similar transportation did not reduce enrollment from affected ZIP codes and stressed the need to communicate changes clearly to families.

Administrators said fee‑based supplements or sliding fees are not a feasible near‑term solution to meet the full $1.7 million target but may be reviewed later to help offset costs. The district will include the transportation changes in the materials for the December hearings and explain how proposed school consolidation options interact with scheduled bus service.