Teachers and students streamed back into Minneapolis public schools Tuesday, the first day back following a three-week teachers strike.
Superintedent Ed Graff welcomed a number of kids in person at Citiview Elementary School on the north side of town, handing special welcome-back gift bags to parents who dropped off the students before the first bell at 8:15 a.m.
"We're going to definitely take a look at the current budget allocations that we have, probably reopen our budget process, and definitely make some adjustments," said Graff about the next step for the state's second-largest school district.
Graff said that process will be difficult.
"Take a look at those department budgets and make those changes that we need in order to ensure that we get this contract finalized and in front of the board in the next couple of days and weeks," he said.
The teachers walked off the job in search of better pay, smaller class sizes, and better mental health care for students.
Education support professional Julie Dargis arrived well before students and the superintendent got to Cityview Elementary, after spending Monday prepping for the students' return.
"It's been a rough three weeks," she said. "I'm not especially happy about what took place."
That's because she felt the early-morning agreement late last week came a little too quick.
"It felt like a vote was forced on us, with not a lot of looking at what it really meant," she said.
After missing 15 days of class, the school day will be extended by 40 minutes starting April 11th, and the end of the school year won't happen until the end of June.
"Extending the school day without really serious thought about what the implications that might be for parents, for staff, for kids," Dargis said. "There wasn't time to do so before we had to make a decision."
Dargis was critical of Graff and school administrators, feeling they were treating the situation like a business.
Graff disagrees.
"Children first, that's what we focus on, kids first," he said.