Minneapolis educators rally before entering school board meeting in protest of budget cuts
MINNEAPOLIS — Outside the Minneapolis School Board meeting, educators rallied for a contract and against the district's claim of a $110 million budget shortfall.
"The math isn't matching," said Greta Callahan, the President of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers.
The district cites declining enrollment, rising costs and the end of federal COVID-19 funding for the budget gap. It recently unveiled proposed budget cuts which included cuts to fifth grade music, assistant principal positions and literacy and math specialists, among others.
"It definitely got our school on the scare. It doesn't feel good to know you may get cut from doing something you like, and you have no choice," said ESP Karissa Williamson.
Bargaining teams from the union and MPS have met more than a dozen times over the past several months. The union wants an 8.5% salary bump in the first year of the new contract and a 7.5% increase in year two.
The union said the financial woes are an exaggeration and the proposed cuts are misplaced.
"You don't need to cut directly from our kids' music, from their mental health and increase class sizes, that's not what's best for our district," Callahan said.
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Concerns about cuts in the district were echoed by parents who spoke up at the board meeting.
"Both of our younger children participate in special ed programs, they have people in the classroom every day supporting them and their ability to learn," parent Bicole Salonek Schladt said.
The family worries the cuts would hurt the most vulnerable students.
"It's really important to us that every dollar possible is going into classrooms and not into suits in the administration office," Cat Salonek Schladt said.
In a statement, the district said it's "working hard to find ways to make cuts while also keeping our students at the center."
Final decisions have yet to be made. The board is expected to dedicate its March 26 meeting to discuss the budget. The board is then scheduled to vote on a final budget in June.
In February, the union pointed to a study it conducted itself that claims MPS spends more on outside contracts than other similarly-sized districts, and MPS has increased spending on administrative, human resources, legal and finance positions by 19% over the past six years while cutting spending on instruction by 5%.
A similar rally in February drew a crowd of nearly 1,000 people.