The Duluth school district, looking to cut several programs and 50 positions, is far from alone among Minnesota schools in having to make painful spending cuts.
The cuts are ironic given that it’s been only two years since the Minnesota Legislature invested $2.2 billion in Minnesota schools; a big chunk of that went to fund school lunches.
Several schools pointed to two big drivers of their budget woes: the Earned Sick and Safe Time law that took effect in January 2024 and the family medical leave law that will take effect in January 2026.
“These programs, though well intentioned, are effectively unfunded mandates that increase our workload,” Jeremy Schmidt, superintendent of the Becker School District, told Minnesota House Republicans at a hearing last month. Republicans held a series of meetings on the topic while Democrats stayed away during a power struggle for control of the House.
Schmidt was joined by multiple school administrators and representatives of education groups in testifying to a myriad of unintended consequences of these mandates that land particularly hard on the state’s smallest school districts.
One of the most startling consequences? In some cases, they are having to hire substitute teachers for substitute teachers.
Suppose a teacher has to miss work, so the school hires a substitute for their classroom. Because of the Earned Sick and Safe Time Act, if that substitute teacher calls in sick after accepting the job, they are entitled to sick pay. Then the school has to hire another substitute. So three people are getting paid to cover one classroom.
Also, because of the way the law was written, Becker schools had to choose an option that required paid leave to be made available immediately to new employees.