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A group of St. Paul Academy and Summit School families were already fuming when tensions boiled over at a February meeting.
They were angry with Head of School Luis Ottley over his handling of reports that boys had circulated lists ranking girls’ appearances. They bristled at the administration’s suppression of the student newspaper when its young staffers sought to cover the situation. And now, they were chafing at a proposed change in the enrollment contract that would dismiss students if they or their families spoke ill of the institution — and leave them on the hook for tuition.
An uproar at the meeting convinced administrators to soften the contract provision without removing it entirely. Two months later, Ottley kicked out a ninth-grader after his father organized a letter criticizing the head of school, according to interviews and documents obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune.
The episode was a flash point in a conflict that has for months roiled the private school, where upper-school tuition exceeds $40,000 annually and alumni include industry leaders, members of Congress and a literary icon.
Some parents say Ottley has stripped the school of its commitment to transparency and open dialogue and instead fostered a culture of punishment and fear.
Other parents, staff and board members have stood behind the head of school. One family called his critics a “vocal minority” in a letter of support for Ottley, adding that school leadership has treated sensitive issues with “confidentiality and care.”
This account of the monthslong dispute is based on dozens of letters, emails and school communications obtained by the Star Tribune, as well as interviews with 11 parents and students. All spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern for their family’s privacy and fear of retaliation from St. Paul Academy (SPA).
Ottley declined an interview through a school spokesperson. In a statement, the school praised Ottley for drawing more students to the school, launching new programs and raising millions of dollars for renovations.

“During his tenure so far, Dr. Ottley has developed and implemented bold new programming while continuing to expand enrollment growth,” the school wrote.
The conflict reveals a school unusually riven by controversy. Some parents have pulled their students — and their donations — from SPA. Seven of the 18 board members who served when Ottley was hired have left, while others continue to support him. The school said board members typically serve three-year terms and leave for a variety of reasons.
The situation offers a window into how leaders at one of the Twin Cities’ most elite schools have sought to manage dissent. It also shows how conflicts between administrators and parents can leave students caught in the middle.
A new leader
Ottley arrived in the Twin Cities with an impressive résumé (https://www.rubiconline.com/ottley-selected-as-new-head-of-school/).
He had led independent schools in Georgia and California and held two graduate degrees, with a third — a divinity degree — in progress. In 2022, he succeeded Bryn S. Roberts, who in his 16 years as head of school increased enrollment, strengthened STEM programs and put up new buildings.
Parents hoped Ottley would uphold the school’s reputation, where graduates have gone on to explore the Arctic, anchor CNN shows and direct the National Park Service. By 2024, he was earning $760,000 in total compensation, school filings show.

“There is an incredible amount of passion for this school,” Ottley said in a recorded video taken during his first month on the job. “Everybody who is here, at least who I have met, has nothing but just real joy when they talk about St. Paul Academy and Summit School.”
But problems emerged.
Ottley began training to be a priest (https://www.saintannesmn.org/notes-from-jennifer/october-27-2023) at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Sunfish Lake about a year after starting at SPA. That rankled some parents who believed he shouldn’t hold two roles, especially not a religious one while running a non-denominational school.
The school said Ottley serves as a “priest intern” at the church on an unpaid basis “as his schedule permits,” calling the role in line with the school’s value of community service.
Ottley’s first real test came in 2025, about 2½ years after he took over as head of school. The year got off to an emotional start after upper-school students discovered a group of boys created lists ranking some girls’ looks.
The school launched an investigation into the lists, but parents felt administrators didn’t act swiftly or seriously enough to address the concerns.

In April 2025, nearly 100 parents and alumni signed a scathing letter demanding intervention from the board of trustees, a high-powered group that included a chief executive, a former professional soccer player and a former General Mills marketing leader.
“Students now navigate their days around their harassers — choosing different hallways, changing classroom seats, and even dropping classes,” the letter to trustees read. “This reality, compounded by the Administration’s unacceptable handling of this ongoing matter, is subverting, corroding and reshaping the culture of SPA.”
A few weeks after the letter was sent, SPA leaders hired a law firm and consultant to review their disciplinary policies and investigation into the lists, as well as offer recommendations. Ottley promised in a May email to provide “a substantive update for parents on our progress” over the summer.
But to some parents’ dismay, the school never shared the review’s full findings, troubling some parents who hoped it would provide more transparency in the situation.
In fall 2025, Ottley informed the community in an email that the school reviewed the outside audit and would subsequently improve its investigative process, communication and “restorative practices.” He outlined several steps leaders planned to take, including bringing educational psychologists to campus and hosting dinners with students.
The school didn’t answer questions about the cost of tapping a law firm and consultant, but it called its investigative process thorough and sensitive.

“While some of our parents were interested in more details, especially as it related to disciplinary decisions, we remained committed to maintaining the privacy of impacted students and families,” the school wrote.
Meanwhile, as the 2025-26 school year began, a group calling itself “Spartans for SPA” distributed an online survey soliciting opinions on the school climate. But that effort collapsed after an attorney representing the school accused the organizers of improperly using the SPA trademark in the domain name.
The parents took down the survey, with their own lawyer issuing a sharp rebuke of SPA.
“It is a remarkable thing to see a school threaten a lawsuit against interested parties simply for disseminating a survey intended to benefit the school and its students,” wrote Andrew T. James, who declined to comment further when reached by the Star Tribune.
The school said the parent-driven effort didn’t meet SPA’s standards for community surveys because it wasn’t created by school leadership.
Concerns mount
Anger over the lists had been simmering for months when St. Paul Academy’s student newspaper, the Rubicon, decided to report on it. Student reporters wrote a story (https://web.archive.org/web/20251016135421/https://www.rubiconline.com/concerns-arise-regarding-sexual-misconduct-head-of-school-ottley-responds/) quoting students who criticized school leaders for not imposing harsher discipline, an archived copy of the story shows.

School leaders intervened three times in the months after the story was published. First, they directed the Rubicon to remove some of the critical quotes, then Ottley’s comments, then the article altogether (https://www.rubiconline.com/concerns-arise-regarding-sexual-misconduct-head-of-school-ottley-responds/?utm_source=varsitypresspass&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=home_page), according to two students who worked on the newspaper at the time. Private schools aren’t covered by a Minnesota law (https://splc.org/new-voices-in-minnesota/) that protects public and charter school newspapers from censorship, but one student called administrators’ actions frustrating.
The school said it removed the article to protect the “mental health” of everyone involved while an investigation continued, arguing that a student newspaper writing about minors “has obligations related to privacy that other news outlets do not.”
A month after the story was wiped from the internet, parents received a routine email about enrollment for the next academic year. Left unmentioned in the message: a revision to the enrollment contract (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28259547-202627-spa-enrollment-contract/) would empower administrators to dismiss students if their family members spoke poorly of SPA — without refunding tuition.
The provision allowed SPA to expel students if family members intimidated school employees, sued the school or voiced “strong disagreement with the School’s policies or procedures.” Administrators later softened the language after parents objected at the February meeting.
The school acknowledged that the new provision in the contract was a response to the dispute over the investigation into the lists. The changes, SPA said, “strengthened the school’s ability to work with families during investigations” and would allow it to better respond when parents made “false assertions and intentional mischaracterizations.”
The school said it regrets not informing families about the revision before asking them to re-enroll. The episode is still a sore point for some parents.

‘Warnings’
Matt Bauer had reached his limit.
Bauer, a Roseville City Council member, watched as controversies fractured the school attended by his two sons, a freshman and a senior.
In February, Bauer invited roughly four dozen people to what he called “Gatsby’s Green Light Gathering,” a nod to the school’s most famous former student, F. Scott Fitzgerald, who attended SPA but didn’t graduate.
The meeting became a rallying point for dissatisfied parents. Bauer drafted a letter to the board of trustees (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28259545-st-paul-academy-and-summit-school-letter-of-no-confidence-full/), declaring, “We have no confidence in the Head of School.” The letter cataloged concerns about Ottley’s leadership, including the proposed contract changes, the school’s handling of the lists investigation and its intervention in the Rubicon’s coverage.
As Bauer sought signatures, Ottley learned of the effort and issued a point-by-point rebuttal (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28259546-st-paul-academy-response-to-letter/)toto) the school community, co-signed by members of the leadership team.
Ottley pledged better communication and defended the school’s authority over the student newspaper. He acknowledged that the contract revisions were made “without advance notice, and that was a mistake,” while noting the school later toned down the language.

The school told the Star Tribune that Bauer’s letter contained “many unsubstantiated and false claims.”
Not everyone shared Bauer’s concerns. Two students said in interviews that they believed some parents were taking the criticism of Ottley too far. A group of parents defended the head of school in a written statement, calling many of the allegations “embellished or false.” Board President David Kristal echoed that support in a March letter.
“We remain confident in both the strategic direction of the school and the expertise and ability of Ottley and his team,” Kristal wrote.
Kristal, who also serves on the Star Tribune’s board, declined an interview. More than a dozen other current and former board members either declined to comment, did not respond to messages or referred questions to SPA.
Two months after organizing the letter of no confidence, Bauer received a startling message from Ottley: His ninth-grade son wouldn’t be welcome at SPA in the fall.
Bauer had “repeatedly and publicly disparaged the school, its policies and practices, and its leadership,” Ottley wrote in a letter to Bauer, adding that Bauer’s no-confidence letter had “caused significant and unnecessary division” and “disrupted our daily operations.”

Ottley promised to refund the family’s enrollment deposit, according to the letter.
The school said it won’t discuss details about individual students to respect their privacy.
Bauer declined an interview through an attorney. His younger son’s enrollment for next school year remains terminated, according to several parents who said the situation has soured the end of the school year. Some said they have considered removing their kids from SPA, but admiration for the teachers and community has convinced them to stay.
Several parents said Ottley’s contract is up for renewal next year. The school said the terms of employee contracts are confidential.
In several statements, the school has touted its recent accomplishments, including “record high enrollment,” the growth of a program for students with dyslexia, the opening of a pre-K and a successful capital campaign.
“This is an optimistic time for our school, and we are grateful for the day-to-day joy and energy filling our hallways and classrooms,” the school said.

But some families see it differently. In a senior speech, Carsten Bauer condemned his younger brother’s dismissal and the conflicts that have rocked the 126-year-old institution, imploring his fellow students to speak up.
“The retaliations against families and students, including the expulsion of [my brother], are not isolated incidents,” he said. “They are warnings. They are signs of what happens when voices are ignored, when concerns are dismissed and when silence is allowed to take root.”

https://www.startribune.com/st-paul-academy-luis-ottley-minnesota/601851787