MINNEAPOLIS — Three weeks before the start of classes in Minneapolis Public Schools, the district is scrambling to fill as many as 280 open positions, according to new data released at a board meeting Tuesday night.
Candra Bennett, the senior officer for human resources, said the district is actively recruiting for these job openings, with an emphasis on special education jobs.
"We are attempting to staff in a very tough climate right now. Both from a statewide perspective, but also nationally, we're seeing some of the lowest numbers relative to licensed school professionals than we've seen in the last number of years," Bennett told the school board. "It's not lost on us that we don't have the robust candidate pipeline that we once had, but given that, we are working really diligently to move people through the candidate hiring process as quickly as we can."
The staffing shortage has impacted departments across the district, including Judy Brown's department in mental health supports.
Shortly before the board honored her for winning the 2022 Minnesota Social Worker of the Year award, Brown told KARE 11 that she's working to fill as many as five of her department's seven positions, although she made multiple offers to candidates on Tuesday.
"All across the country there's a shortage of mental health professionals," Brown said. "We're looking for someone who can weather the storm, to get to the joy."
As the school year approaches, teachers are feeling the pinch. Nafeesah Muhammad, who teaches at Henry High School in Minneapolis, said she's worried that support staff members may be pulled into substitute teaching.
"I'm already feeling the anxiety around it, to be honest with you," Muhammad said. "The hardest part would be the staffing. Because, what do educators do? We roll up our sleeves, and get to work, and fill in the gaps where we have to. But that doesn't mean we don't have a breaking point."
Along with staffing shortages, Minneapolis Public Schools are also dealing with a continued decline in enrollment. The district presented numbers on Tuesday showing that 3,336 students left the district from July 2021 to July 2022, including 1,966 Black students.
"That is particularly alarming for us," Executive Director of Engagement and External Relations Tyrize Cox told the board. "We are thinking through what that means and how to resolve that as quickly as possible."
The district has set a goal of boosting enrollment by 10 percent in 2025-26. In the short-term, MPS will also be targeting three specific schools that are struggling with low enrollment to ensure more kids don't leave. District officials did not name those schools specifically on Tuesday night.
It's a lot to tackle for interim Superintendent Rochelle Cox, who presided over her first full meeting Tuesday after the departure of previous Superintendent Ed Graff. During the public comment period, several people called on the school board to run a transparent selection process to determine the next permanent superintendent.
"Interim Superintendent Cox says her mission is to restore trust in the community, and you restore trust by listening to us," Nafeesah Muhammad said in an interview. "We want the community to genuinely have a part, a voice, in choosing who our superintendent might be."
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