Minneapolis public school teachers called a strike on Monday, their first for more than 50 years, leading the school district to cancel classes for 30,000 students beginning Tuesday until the work stoppage is resolved.
Highlights
- Some 4,500 teachers and support staff plan to form picket lines at school buildings on Tuesday morning and hold a rally and march in the afternoon.
- Teachers are demanding better wages, mental health support and limits on class sizes.
- The Minneapolis Public Schools district says it is facing a $97.2 million budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year.
- Enrollment has fallen by 3,000 students as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in less funding from the state, the district says.
- The district says the gap between what the union is demanding and what the district can afford is in the millions of dollars.
- The strike is the first in more than 50 years.