As the strike by the Minneapolis teachers union entered its ninth day on Tuesday, there has been little progress on negotiations between the school district and the union.
City officials have insisted that meeting the demands of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers is fiscally impossible, as it would put the city over budget by more than $160 million.
The union authorized a strike last week, seeking higher teacher pay, limits on class sizes, and expanded mental health services. The city says that as much as they would like to meet the union’s demands, there simply isn’t enough funding.
PARENTS SLAM MINNEAPOLIS TEACHERS UNION AS STRIKE DRAGS INTO FOURTH DAY
“Unfortunately, the reality is we’re resource-limited,” Minneapolis Superintendent Ed Graff said last week. “The finances we have are not enough to provide the support we need to provide.”
Classes in the city’s public schools have been canceled since the strike began, keeping the district’s 30,00 students out of school amid struggles to recoup learning losses caused by pandemic-related school closures.
Some students joined the union on the picket line Tuesday, KTSP reported, citing one student who said the teachers were “fighting for us, they’re fighting for the community, and they’re fighting for public schools.”
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Minimal progress has been made on negotiations, although the union said the district has moved to meet their demands on class sizes.
