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Laura MacArthur teachers describe staffing cuts, large caseloads and classroom evacuations
Summary
Teachers at Laura MacArthur Elementary told the Duluth board that budget-driven cuts have raised caseloads, removed key support staff and forced reactive evacuations that disrupt learning; they called for added SEB/MTSS staff and lower caseloads.
Teachers at Laura MacArthur Elementary described how recent budget reductions have affected students' safety and learning during the Duluth Public Schools listening session.
"We're stuck in a reactive model where we're only able to respond after behavior has escalated to an extreme," Jordan Wagner, a special‑education teacher at Laura MacArthur, told the board. Wagner said caseloads had reached about 20 students and that on his own caseload 11 students had behavior plans and high‑needs behaviors, including physical aggression. He said when a student becomes unsafe, class evacuations are required and those disruptions cause significant loss of instructional time.
Hallie Ribich, a third‑grade teacher, said the school's discretionary budget was cut by 56% last year, class sections were reduced (from three to two), paras were cut and the building lost its SEB coordinator — all of which she said increased class sizes and funneled more behavioral needs into fewer staff. Parents and a teacher who is also a parent told the board they have seen positive outcomes when staff supports are in place, and urged the district to restore staffing to enable proactive interventions.
Speakers asked the board to invest in behavior‑support staffing (SEB and MTSS roles), lower special‑education caseloads and ensure staff capacity to implement proactive supports rather than reactive responses. No formal board decision was recorded at the listening session.
