On Wednesday Dec. 18, teachers at Park wore black clothing and union gear. The teachers at Park form the union Park Association of Teachers – Local 7255, which has previously held events at local establishments such as Park Tavern and Parkway Pizza. The union has even demonstrated at the Minnesota Capitol for rallies hosted by the state teachers union, though they have yet to make a demonstration at school in recent years, until now.
According to Park math teacher and local 7255 union representative Keisha Piehl, the teachers at Park will be dressing in black clothing every Wednesday for the foreseeable future to demonstrate the presence of the teacher’s union.
“The teachers are wearing black today and every Wednesday, moving forward for the near future, to show our solidarity as a collective teachers union,” Piehl said. “It’s not a form of protest. It’s a form of collaboration and unity.”
Junior William Vogt-Brettigen said he noticed the teachers’ attire at school and he interpreted it to be a demonstration or message.
“This morning I noticed they were all dressed in black or black T-shirts,” Vogt-Brettigen said. “It seemed like they (were) trying to say something or present some sort of statement.”
Piehl said the union is nervous about budget cuts at Park and worries that these cuts may result in more work for teachers. She said this could negatively affect the students at Park and the relationships between students and teachers.
“We are aware that budget cuts are coming for our district,” Piehl said. “We are facing a $2 million budget shortfall, and the teachers are joining together in solidarity to send the message that we do not think teachers should carry the bulk of those budget cuts. We are so proud of the close relationships we build with students, the time we invest with students and all the support we can provide to students. We worry (that) any increase in our workload, which is already very exhausting, would negatively impact those things that we’re proud of.”
Senior Evelyn Bot said she was not aware of the budget cuts facing the school and is now aware of it due to the teachers’ demonstration. She said she is concerned about how the budget cuts might affect teachers.
“I have known that we’ve always been in kind of a rough (financial) spot, but I wasn’t aware that there was a current problem right now with the budget,” Bot said. “It puts extra stress and pressure on the teachers and that’s not fair to them. It just creates a more stressful classroom environment which can make it harder to learn in.”
Vogt-Brettigen said he is concerned about the possibility of his schooling being affected by the budget cuts. He said he wants the school to be more open about the budget struggles and what can be done about them.
“From what I have heard, either (budget cuts) directly affect my schedule or they can put more stress on the teachers, which in turn would give me a worse education,” Vogt-Brettigen said. “We need more transparency and information as students from the school.”
Piehl said the issue of budget cuts is important to the entire Park community and not just the district employees.
“Our entire community is stakeholders in our students,” Piehl said. “That includes members of our community in this building and members of the wider St. Louis Park community. We all have a strong investment in the students of St. Louis Park.”
Bot said the demonstration was worth the effort because it brought attention to the issue for students and has made her more mindful of the budget cuts.
“This (demonstration) is worth it because it’s made more kids aware of it, like me, who didn’t initially know that there were current budget cuts taking place,” Bot said “Now I’m aware of it, so I’ll be more conscious of what’s going on.”
Peihl said the union is trying to work with institutions around the district to deal with the budget cuts, and the solutions to the budget problems at Park can be solved without hurting the school employees.
“We are exploring avenues of communication,” Peihl said. “We will hopefully be in communication with the school board, with the superintendent, with building leaders and (with) our union leadership. I firmly believe that the money can be found in places that do not impact classroom teachers and paraprofessionals.”
