Minneapolis Students Left Out of School as Teacher Strike Enters 3rd Week

Twin City Teachers and their supporters march in Minneapolis on Feb. 12, 2022 (Hannah Hobus/Pioneer Press via AP)

More than 29,000 students in Minneapolis are in their third week of no school, as the public school district and its teachers’ union make little progress in reaching a deal to end a prolonged strike.

Starting March 8, the strike has now cost 10 days of classes for students of Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), who have already suffered from learning loss due to pandemic school closures. In order to meet the state requirement, at least half of these missed days must be made up either by canceling spring break or extending the last day of school.

The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT 59) has made a series of demands, including higher pay, smaller class sizes, and other concessions from the school district. But the key obstacle that prevents an agreement continues to be pay for educational support professionals, or ESPs. The average starting salary for ESPs in Minneapolis is about $24,000 each year, and the union demands that be increased to $35,000.

In response, the MPS offered its “last, best and final” offer to the ESPs. This complex offer includes, among other things, a 15.6 percent salary increases on average over two years and a $3.5 million investment to cover additional hours. District officials said that would bring most of the full-time ESPs close to an annual pay of $35,000.

“MPS is reaching beyond its financial means on behalf of our ESPs and will need to make more than $10 million in reductions for the next school year as a result,” MPS said. The district said earlier this month that it is anticipating a $97.2 million budget shortfall for the 2022–2023 fiscal year.

The union remains unimpressed, with a chapter leader saying the district should be able to guarantee $35,000 for all ESP staff.

“While we appreciate MPS getting to where they are, we know they can get to $35,000 for ESP,” said Shaun Laden, president for MFT 59’s ESP chapter. “It won’t take much more on their part to settle this strike and get our students and educators back to school. We believe we can get this done.”

Laden also said the city “can do better to recruit and retain educators of color, reduce class sizes, add mental health supports, and create stability for our students by proposing competitive pay for licensed staff.”

Meanwhile, in neighboring St. Paul, the St. Paul Federation of Educators overwhelmingly voted to join the picket line alongside their Minneapolis counterparts. However, the union managed to reach a midnight deal with its school district, effectively preventing the walkout.