Minneapolis, MN – Students, families and educators of Minneapolis Public Schools have been busy over the past month organizing the community to reject the Minneapolis Public School (MPS) district’s “Transformation Plan.”

The district’s plan, announced on September 15, would close around 15 of the district’s best schools starting in the 2027-2028 school year. In response, the educators represented by Minneapolis Federation of Educators, Local 59 (MFE 59) have been holding rallies and feedback sessions, and using every public forum they can, to raise their concerns with the plan and educate the community around the impacts the plan would have.

School workers like Dino Schipper state, “Each and every one of these schools are a unique community full of people who love them. I just started working at FAIR High School for the Arts, and already I’ve come to love the community there. It’s so special that we have an arts high school in Minneapolis, and shutting it down would be a huge loss. It serves as a safe haven for queer and neurodivergent students, and any students that have a hard time fitting in and feeling safe anywhere else.”

MFE 59 has been leading the fightback against these closures, with a presence at all five of the district’s feedback sessions and a large rally in the rain, September 15, outside of the Davis Center, where MPS is headquartered. MFE 59 member organizers handed out hundreds of “No school closures!” buttons to community members on their way to give negative feedback on the plan to the district. Rallies have also been held by Minneapolis Families for Public Schools, featuring speakers like school board candidates Shannon Gibney and Christin Crabtree and MFE 59 Teacher Chapter First Vice President Natasha Dockter.

News that Minneapolis school board directors Greta Callahan and Sharon El-Amin introduced a resolution to pause the closures made the crowd hopeful at the Roosevelt High School rally. The resolution goes further to call on the superintendent to perform a “comprehensive alternative plan to increase enrollment, strengthen academic and programmatic offerings, improve district stability, and identify options for the sustainable use of district facilities,” including pre-kindergarten and bilingual programs.

The resolution also calls for the district to refocus on enrollment and expansion instead of divestment, echoing the vision long held by MFE 59. Only 53% of Minneapolis kids are enrolled in Minneapolis Public Schools, and the proposed closures would continue the trend of decreased enrollment in the district, driving families out of MPS. The resolution will be voted on Tuesday, October 13, and Director Callahan has indicated optimism that she has the votes to pass it.

Pickets at sites targeted for closure are still planned in the upcoming weeks, as well as continued email pressure and actions at school sites by MFE members.

In a statement, Minnesota Workers United voiced support for the educators: “MWU sees this as another step towards the defunding of every public service working families rely on. It’s an attack on the people of Minneapolis and an attack on the future of high-quality public education in Minneapolis, fitting right in with the current billionaire agenda to attack Minneapolis and public schools.”

Follow MFE 59 and Minneapolis Families for Public Schools for action items and rally times.

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Negotiations between MFE59 members and the school district’s negotiating team included months of bargaining with countless proposals and counter-proposals as well as mediation sessions to try to reach a deal. Now after all of that negotiating there is finally a tentative agreement on the table for MFE 59’s members, who will be voting this week to either ratify or reject the agreement.

Across the city, educators, families and community supporters of strong public schools had been organizing alongside MFE59 for Minneapolis to be what they called a “destination district.” Minneapolis Families for Public Schools organized a rally of hundreds of student families in solidarity with MFE59. Additionally, more than 120 Minneapolis-based community organizations – including mosques, synagogues and churches – signed on in support of the union’s contract fight.

The contract fight saw a variety of actions by MFE59 members, including six coordinated rallies across the city and many pickets held at the Davis Center where bargaining was taking place.

While the educators built strong community support for their strike, ultimately the teachers and education support professionals who work for the district voted to withhold their labor and strike, which was at the core of the fight.

On November 1, MFE59 announced the results of a strike vote, and by a powerful 92% majority the members voted to strike. Turnout for the vote was also 92% which is extremely high participation for this type of vote. This sent a clear statement that Minneapolis educators were willing to do what it took to reach a strong contract. 

The MFE59 members were prepared to walk out onto the picket line starting Tuesday, November 11. The sentiment and resolve of the members across the union was unified.

MFE59 represents three bargaining units: Adult Education Teachers, Licensed Teachers, and Education Support Professionals. Some of the things that MFE59 was fighting for were wage increases, pay parity for adult education teachers, enforceable caps to class sizes, and holiday and break pay as well as increases to sick time for education support professionals.

While exact details of the tentative agreement are not being made public yet by the union, MFE59 will be holding informational sessions for its members this week to go over details of the agreement before a member vote on whether the tentative agreement will be ratified. The union has said that the new agreement includes smaller and enforceable class sizes, more support for special education and caseload limits, pay increases for all educators and other wins.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Labor #Teachers #MFE59