“It’s a union contract policy of last to hire first to fire, which just reinforces the racial disparity that exists there for teachers of color,” J.J. Hill parent ShaVunda Brown said.
St. Paul Public Schools administrators explained that the budget cuts stemmed from declining enrollment, prekindergarten funding formulas, and fewer kindergarten students than expected. But to parents, teachers, and students, those calculations didn’t account for the value of their school’s only Black teacher, Shevie Brooks.