March 23, 2022
We are moving into week three of the Minneapolis teachers union strike. Why hasn’t it been resolved yet?
There may be a surprising answer to that question.
Eric Moore is the district’s Chief of Research, Accountability, and Equity, and he would like to be the next superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools, according to a series of text messages he sent to Minneapolis Federation of Teachers president Greta Callahan in January of this year.
Moore’s texts indicate he was willing to engage in a quid pro quo with Callahan in order to secure his goal of becoming superintendent, according to district sources that wish to remain anonymous.
Moore has worked for the Minneapolis Public Schools since 2013, after serving as the Director of Student Services and Diversity for Anoka-Hennepin Schools from 2001-2008. In recent years, he has taken on more responsibility for the direction of MPS and was widely regarded as the lead architect (watch from the 1:30 mark for insight into Moore’s views) of the district’s controversial overhaul known as the Comprehensive District Design (CDD).
Text Exchange Between Moore and Callahan
Moore: Lead MPS Negotiator
Moore’s communications with Callahan took place while MFT was engaged in contract negotiations with MPS but before the union’s 3,000+ membership base voted to authorize a strike earlier this month. Now, teachers, support staffers, and district students have been out of the classroom and missing paychecks since March 8 with no end in sight.
Moore, however, is currently serving as a lead member of the Minneapolis Public Schools’ contract negotiations team, alongside outgoing Human Resources director Maggie Sullivan and the district’s labor lawyer, Margaret Skelton.
But should Moore be at the table, representing MPS, when he has expressed his desire to push Superintendent Ed Graff out in favor of his own attempt to become the district’s next CEO?
Sources close to the negotiating process are questioning why Moore continues to be allowed such control over the contract negotiations, especially when Graff was made aware of the texts Moore sent to Callahan. (At least two school board members have also been apprised of Moore’s texts.)