Negotiations continue on Monday between the Minneapolis school district and its teachers union as the group’s strike stretches into a new school week.
After weekend mediation sessions, district and union leaders both say they want to end the strike quickly. District officials said their latest offer represents a “financial limit.”
Classes are canceled Monday and indefinitely until the two parties reach an agreement.
“They’ve done it in St. Paul, we can do it in Minneapolis,” said Shaun Laden, president of the educational support professionals chapter of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers. He said the union’s goal is to get their priorities, including class-size caps, mental health supports and higher wages into contract language.
In a brief news conference on Sunday, four school board members spoke about the district’s latest offers and pointed to what they say are financial burdens the state has put on its public schools.
Without additional funding from the state to help close gaps in paying for the state-mandated special education and English language learner services the district provides, Board Treasurer Kimberly Caprini said the district will “continue to financially struggle year after year.”
The Minneapolis district is projecting a $21.5 million budget shortfall, despite the use of $75 million in one-time federal relief money.
Caprini said the district’s latest proposal “significantly increases” spending “in recognition of the extraordinary work of our staff over the last two years.” If the union accepts that offer, she said, the district will have to make “other drastic cuts” if an infusion of additional state dollars doesn’t come.
The district’s offer represents about a 9% increase in wages for support staff over two years and a 7.4% increase in teacher salaries, according to an update posted on its website Sunday night. The district also offered to include contract language limiting class sizes in “highest need” schools as well as $3 million in one-time investments to add more mental health supports for students, said Board Member Jenny Arneson.
“We know this does not meet the current demands of the unions, but we have reached our financial limit,” Caprini said.
Greta Callahan, president of the union’s teachers chapter, said the district’s weekend offer was the first one that she felt represented movement in negotiating toward a deal, but some of that momentum was lost on Sunday. Union leaders were pleased to see some progress toward class size caps, but district leaders are still hesitant about what they are willing to write into the contract, Callahan said.
“We want to make a deal, but they are refusing,” Callahan said, adding that the union continues to call for more board members to be in the mediation sessions. “We are totally willing to move on the numbers, but we need to make sure our priorities are in contract language.”
