Two Minneapolis school board members have missed about half of the board’s meetings since the start of 2025 — notable absences ahead of a November vote on closing and merging schools.

Adriana Cerrillo and Lucie Skjefte were not present for a combined 22 regular and special business meetings over the past 21 months, according to a Minnesota Star Tribune review of attendance recorded in board minutes.

Cerrillo, who represents District 4 in downtown and westcentral Minneapolis, missed 13 of the 21 meetings reviewed.

Skjefte, the representative for District 3 in parts of central and south Minneapolis, missed nine.

That count includes regular and special business meetings held from January 2025 through September 2026, but not work sessions or committee meetings. The district allows board members to attend meetings remotely, and remote attendance is noted in meeting minutes.

Skjefte said her recent absences were related to health problems affecting her and her family.

“I don’t wish to further disclose for my own privacy,” she wrote in a text message.

“Earlier this year, my partner also had life-threatening medical issues. It’s been a difficult year.”

Cerrillo did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

She remotely attended the most recent board meeting, where district leaders presented three plans to close and consolidate schools, redraw attendance boundaries and move thousands of children to new buildings.

Each option would close at least 13 schools. District leaders say consolidation would ensure more consistent programming across the city, but would not significantly cut costs.

N either state law nor Minneapolis Public Schools policy sets an attendance requirement  for board members, and the district is exempt from a state law allowing boards to remove members for cause.

For most school districts, Minnesota law states a school board seat can become vacant if illness or a prolonged absence from the district prevents a member from serving and attending meetings for at least 90 days. But simply missing a certain number or share of meetings does not automatically create a vacancy — the board would have to declare one by resolution.

A separate law, applying only to Minneapolis Public Schools, does not list illness as a reason for a school board vacancy and states that a provision allowing most school boards to remove members for “proper cause” does not apply to the district.

The district’s own policy says a vacancy may result from a board member’s death, resignation or move out of the district. It does not identify repeated absences as a reason a seat would become vacant, but the district’s code of ethics for board members lists “attend school board meetings” as its first point.

The Minnesota School Boards Association offers broader guidance in its model policy. Its code of ethics also states board members should attend meetings.

Beyond state law, however, each board decides whether a member’s conduct violates its ethical standards.

Minneapolis district policy allows the board to revoke officer positions — chair, vice chair, clerk and treasurer — from members for cause. One example of a cause listed: missing three consecutive regularly scheduled meetings without a reasonable excuse.

But removing someone from one of those jobs would not remove that person from the board, the policy states. Neither Cerrillo nor Skjefte holds an officer position.

Board members’ pay is also not connected to attendance.

The chair and vice chair each receive $22,000 annually, while the other directors, including Cerrillo and Skjefte, receive $20,000. Student representatives receive $5,000.

“There is not a current policy that makes board member compensation contingent on attendance, nor is there one regarding the reporting of meeting absences specifically,”Ryan Strack, the district’s senior executive officer, said in a statement. He declined to comment further, saying it would be inappropriate for the administration to weigh in on an operational matter concerning the board.

Board Chair Collin Beachy also declined to comment.

S kjefte joined the board in November 2024 through an unusual appointment process to fill a vacancy when Faheema Feerayarre resigned.

She and finalist Fatimah Hussein tied in ranked-choice voting, then deadlocked in a 4-4 vote of the sitting board. A coin flip broke the tie in Skjefte’s favor. Her term ends Jan. 4, 2027.

Cerrillo, who first joined the board in 2021, won re-election in 2024. Her current term runs until January 2029.

Both are expected to have a say Nov. 10, when the board could determine which of the district’s schools are closing and how attendance boundaries will be redrawn.

That vote is set for just days after the November general election, when five of the board’s nine seats are on the ballot. Elected board members would be seated in January. mara.klecker@startribune.com