Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) continues to face scrutiny regarding its financial management and contracts with Frontier Transportation Services. Recent reporting by Alpha News has raised alarm over significant discrepancies in the school district’s payment practices to the passenger-van company operated by Falmata Bedasso and Abdurahman Kadir.
Earlier this year, Alpha News drew attention to a contract with Frontier that supposedly caped compensation at $3.6 million by 2027. However, invoices indicate that by early 2025, MPS had already paid over $7 million to Frontier. The contract primarily pertains to transporting Homeless and Highly Mobile (HHM) students, a service that, under Minnesota law, is reimbursed by the state.
In response to inquiries, MPS has claimed that the $3.6 million figure references an annual total, not a cumulative amount, but did not provide documentation to support this assertion. Instead, the district’s representatives posed a surprising question to Alpha News, asking if a correction would be issued should evidence be provided. This has raised concerns about transparency from a publicly funded institution.
An examination of MPS’s contract history reveals a series of amendments and extensions that have only compounded public confusion. The initial contract approved in June 2022 was set not to exceed $1.5 million but underwent several amendments that significantly increased the cap without an apparent explanation for the inflated payments already made.
Furthermore, the district approved a new contract with Frontier this past June, covering transportation for general, special, and HHM students, with a new cap of $2.7 million through the 2025-26 school year. This pattern of contracts and amendments raises serious questions about MPS’s financial oversight and management practices.
Additionally, it’s been revealed that Frontier’s owner, Bedasso, actively lobbied lawmakers for increased funding to aid his business, highlighting the intricacies of the relationship between public funding and private enterprise. Testifying in support of additional state funding, he credited the growth of his company to significant aid received from a nonprofit that has also been the recipient of taxpayer resources.
The situation underscores a broader need for transparency and accountability within MPS’s financial dealings. As the investigation continues, the hope is that clarity will be brought to these contracts and ultimately benefit the students who rely on these essential transportation services.