School district’s $100,000 rebranding project angers Minnesota parents

Rochester Public Schools (RPS) in Minnesota is lavishing over $100,000 on its rebranding campaign – a move causing frustration among community members.

“One parent, speaking anonymously, says spending $100,000 on consultants, new logos, and a new vision is egregious,” writes Chandler Jackson for the local ABC affiliate.

“He adds the same could be done with less, especially since the district is still recovering with poor test scores.”

RPS serves almost 18,000 students and is the seventh-largest district in the Gopher State.

It had been cutting expenditures until a $10 million gift from the Mayo Clinic in 2023, as well as $200 million from taxpayers in a 2024 referendum, released it from “any more major cuts in the near future,” according to Jackson.

‘Defining your values does matter’ 

Superintendent Kent Pekel defended the rebranding as necessary in an environment where public-school attendance is declining. 

“Just a few years ago you had the private schools and you had your public school district,” he said. “Now we have charter schools, we have homeschool, we have online school.” 

An image makeover should help the district attract more families, Pekel reasoned. 

“At some point in organizations that are really, really effective, defining your mission, defining your vision, defining your values does matter.” 

However, analysts cite high educational costs alongside poor academic outcomes as indicators of mismanagement statewide. 

“Academic performance amongst K-12 students is abysmal and in a state of decline,” wrote Bob Fallen, founder of the Local Elections Matter nonprofit. “Once touted as one of the best in the nation, the Minnesota public school system is failing.” 

A 2024 study showed the state’s educational funding had skyrocketed beyond what inflationary pressures and the COVID-19 pandemic could reasonably contribute, according to Fallen. 

“Combined revenue for public schools has exceeded inflation for more than two decades, both statewide and at the district level. We understand that cost structures for school districts vary, with nuances and variables related to expenditures. However, the information we compiled is based 100% on factual data available to the public.” 

As a result, Minnesotans need to become more engaged at the civic level – holding school administrations accountable “for managing the largest budget line-item of the state’s ballooning budget,” Fallen argued. 

“This level of financial mismanagement is commonplace with public school boards statewide. When businesses operate with the same level of financial mismanagement, they generally file for bankruptcy or face fraud charges.”