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Union raises staffing cuts, class-size guidelines and removed paras at Project Stay
Summary
Union negotiators pressed MPS about school staffing reductions—including reported cuts of five paraprofessionals at Project Stay, alleged reductions from 40 to 30 hours for many paras/CHAs, and class-size guideline implementation at about 48 high-utilization schools—requesting school-level data and confirmation from the administration.
Union representatives told district negotiators they had received reports that paraprofessionals and children's health assistants had been cut from 40 hours to 30 hours at some schools and said five para positions at Project Stay were removed for next year. The union asked the district to confirm these staffing changes and to provide a school-by-school summary.
District officials said any hour reductions are not uniform across the district but are handled on a school-by-school basis depending on student needs, IEP requirements, available grant funding and each school's budget. The administration agreed it would look into the specific Project Stay positions and provide summaries for requested schools.
Separately, the district described class-size guidelines as advisory (not an enforceable cap) and said it had identified about 48 schools operating at high utilization (some above 130% and examples up to 167% utilization at specific sites). The district said principals cannot always expand physical space, and exceptions to guidelines require an instructionally sound justification approved by the school leader and academic superintendent.
Union negotiators said the combined effect of staffing instability, high vacancy counts (the union cited 109 teacher and 94 paraprofessional vacancies), and class-size pressure is destabilizing school communities and undermining recruitment and retention. District officials said they would provide reconciled data on stand-up requests, positions realized through vacancies or attrition, and where reductions occurred.
What matters: Staffing allocations, paraprofessional hours and class-size practices affect classroom supports for vulnerable students and the district's ability to meet special-education minutes. The union requested transparent, school-level data to evaluate the scale and distribution of changes.
Next steps: District will provide a school-level analysis of (1) paras/CHA hour changes, (2) approved and unapproved critical-need stand-up requests and (3) the list of ~48 high-utilization schools and their utilization rates; parties agreed to review those details in a meet-and-confer session.
