A few years ago, when Minneapolis was in the midst of yet another search for a new school superintendent, I wrote in this column that the city should end the search and, instead, merge the Minneapolis and St. Paul school systems under the direction of Pat Harvey, St. Paul’s then superintendent. If I had a better memory, or a halfway decent filing system, I could quote all of the logical and persuasive arguments I gave for making such a move, but I don’t, so I can’t. But I do remember receiving quite a few responses telling me why the idea wouldn’t work, and suggesting I might be well advised to have my head examined.
I don’t think the merger idea should have been so quickly dismissed. Minneapolis went on to hire a new superintendent, but she didn’t work out. St. Paul’s Pat Harvey decided to leave, and they’ve just brought on her replacement. It still makes sense to at least explore the idea of merging the two school systems. A combined system of about 80,000 students would have far more clout negotiating purchases, attracting talent, and expanding course offerings, and it could enjoy substantial savings. While there are many differences in demographics and resulting challenges, there have to be far more similarities.
I was reminded of all this a few months ago when I came across a fine article by Dave Beal, the retired, longtime business writer for the Pioneer Press. Dave’s column was about the recent merger of the St. Paul and Minneapolis American Red Cross chapters.
His point was that it was the latest in an almost 10-year-long series of logical, cost-saving, efficiency-enhancing mergers between previously separate and sometimes competitive organizations. Here’s the list: the Northern Star Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Tubman Family Alliance, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities, Second Harvest Heartland, Greater Twin Cities United Way, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities, Salvation Army, Camp Fire USA Minnesota Council, and the aforementioned American Red Cross Twin Cities Chapter.
In case you’re wondering, Minneapolis did not end up dominating in these mergers. Indeed, St. Paul is now the headquarters location for three of them, Minneapolis for three, Maplewood and Roseville one each, and the Northern Star Council is keeping offices in both cities!
The combined entities are bigger and therefore better able to accomplish their objectives in a more stable environment. To my knowledge, there have been no problems or significant negatives, with the exception of the one-time reduction of duplicative staff. This is an obvious negative for those who lost their jobs, but a big plus for the bottom line of the organizations.
My question: if it’s worked
for so
many, why not seriously and objectively look for further opportunities?
For example, the Minneapolis Foundation and the St. Paul Foundation.
These two
outstanding community foundations may have a lot of
differences in terms of the
programs they fund, but structurally they
have to be very similar. With the
Minneapolis Foundation currently
looking for a new CEO, isn’t this the ideal
time to at least discuss
the idea of a merger?
Another example: The Minneapolis, St. Paul, Hennepin County, and Ramsey County library systems operate practically on top of one another. While I’ve never read their mission statements, how in the world could they differ from one another? One combined system would be a powerhouse both in terms of its buying strength and its depth of services to constituents.
The St. Paul and Minneapolis police departments have far more in common than they have differences. The potential savings in training facilities, senior staff duplication, buying power, and assignment flexibility would have to be substantial. There would be downsides, obviously, but wouldn’t it make sense to at least talk about it?
As our communities struggle to improve or even maintain services in the face of ever-increasing costs and ever-increasing funding frustrations, maybe it’s time to take a fresh look at opportunities we’ve never before taken seriously. Why can’t Minnesota be a national leader once again?
