Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said class sizes are “way too high” in Minneapolis, with “way too few” guidance counselors and nurses, an…
MINNEAPOLIS — Teachers in the Minneapolis School District walked off the job Tuesday in a dispute over wages, class sizes and mental health support for students coping with two years of the coronavirus pandemic, pausing classes for about 29,000 students and nearly 3,300 teachers in one of Minnesota’s largest school districts.
The heads of the two major national teachers unions — the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers — joined the Minneapolis union leaders. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said class sizes are “way too high” in Minneapolis, with “way too few” guidance counselors and nurses, and that wages for education support professionals are too low to support families.Classes continued without interruption at the neighboring St. Paul Public Schools district, with about 34,000 students, after teachers and administrators announced a tentative agreement late Monday night to avert a strike.
St. Paul Superintendent Joe Gothard said the agreement was fair while working within the district’s budget limitations.