As a mother of a student attending a Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) elementary school, I ask that you join me in declaring no confidence in superintendent Ed Graff.

Under Graff's leadership, conditions for teachers and educators in Minneapolis have grown worse at an alarming rate, leading MFT 59 to go on strike March 8-March 24, 2022 for the first time in 52 years.

Teachers and district staff who chose to exercise their right to strike -- which was more than 95% according to the district's own figures -- weren’t allowed to access their work email or use district-owned computers or other equipment. Striking educators went without pay (including sick or vacation) and their insurance benefits would have been discontinued had the strike continued to April (Source: https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/95-of-minneapolis-teachers-participating-in-strike-district-data-shows/). The restricted access to credentials had a major impact on Minneapolis educators' ability to apply for other jobs within the district, since they were unable to access MPS's job board for three weeks during the height of hiring season (Source: firsthand conversation with several district staff).

These are well-known union busting tactics; not surprising given Graff's anti-democatic leadership and approach to his role:

• In March of 2020, a large and diverse coalition of parents, educators, and citizens were clear about our desire to halt the Comprehensive District Design (CDD) vote when it became apparent that the outbreak of Covid-19 would rob us the opportunity to responsibly debate such a massively disruptive, hasty, and unproven overhaul (see https://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2020/03/minneapolis-students-deserve-a-better-district-design-plan/). Graff and the board not only chose to move forward anyway, but cherry-picked the public comments submitted via voicemail to play at their virtual meeting prior to the vote (one of many dubious actions on behalf of Graff and the board throughout the entire CDD process). Rather than listen, they chose to mislead the public at a time when parents and educators were already burdened with distance learning, layoffs, and other myriad concerns.
• Isolated in the comfort of their own homes instead of the public forum of the Davis Center, the Minneapolis Public School board voted 6-3 to pass the CDD during a virtual meeting on May 11, 2020.
• On July 3, 2020, MPS quietly moved forward with replacing School Resource Officers (SROs) with "Public Safety Support Specialists." MPS posted the positions barely a month after they voted unanimously to remove SROs from schools due to overwhelming public demand. These specialists "provide a bridge between in-school intervention and law enforcement" and “respond to security incidents and emergencies” -- all of which the residents of Minneapolis demanded be removed from our schools in the wake of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police (Source: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/06/minneapolis-remove-police-from-schools-history.html).

Time and time again, Graff and a majority of the board have demonstrated their contempt for authentic, democratic engagement with the parents, educators, stakeholders, and taxpayers of Minneapolis. Not even a resident of the community he was appointed to serve, Graff currently resides in Edina (Source: https://blockshopper.com/mn/hennepin-county/edina/property/1902824140051/5605-park-place). 

For all of the above reasons, please join me in declaring no confidence in Ed Graff as superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools.