Kendall Qualls Calls on Minneapolis Teachers’ Union to Address Declining Enrollment and Provide Students a Quality Education
MINNEAPOLIS – Today marks one week since the Minneapolis Teachers’ Union decided to strike. This decision has caused setbacks for Minneapolis families having to accommodate for childcare and loss of learning as students are unable to return to the classroom until further notice. Republican gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls issued the following statement chastising the union for not addressing the root causes of declining enrollment and for failing students.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that after nearly two years of interrupted learning, our state’s largest school district is being impacted by the Minneapolis Teachers’ Union decision to further obstruct classroom learning for nearly 30,000 students. While school districts across the nation have suffered a 3-5% decline in enrollment, Minneapolis enrollment has plummeted 12%. That number is indicative of a larger problem within the Minneapolis school district, but the union would prefer to turn a blind eye at the expense of students than address the actual problem.
Parents feel as if their kids’ educational needs aren’t being met and are utilizing open enrollment, as well as opting for charter schools. Instead of forcing Minneapolis kids to fall behind on even more learning, the union should be working with the district to ensure our kids are receiving a quality education. This is why when I’m governor parents will have the option of expanded school choice because these students shouldn’t be left behind by a union that would rather engage in political theatre.”