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Study: Foreclosure Crisis Affecting Mpls Public Schools

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A local group is saying that big banks, like Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank, aren't doing enough to help families in foreclosure.

Minnesota's chapter of Neighborhoods Organizing for Change released the details of a study Monday on foreclosed homes in Minneapolis, and the group concluded that the foreclosure crisis is impacting Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS).

Steve Fletcher oF Neighborhoods Organizing for Change said, "It has cost Minneapolis Public Schools $150 million to live through this foreclosure crisis. That's money we could have used to help close the achievement gap; that's money we could have used to keep some of these schools open."

The group is asking the state to require mortgage servicers to help homeowners before they reach the point of foreclosure.

Since 2006, 13,000 homes gone through foreclosure in Minneapolis, and an estimated 4,000 students have had to move out of the MPS district, resulting in significantly less state funding for the district, the group's report said.

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