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.)
Internal MPS Chaos Continues
Callahan and her counterpart, Shaun Laden, who heads up the Education Support Professional branch of MFT, reportedly then met with Graff and questioned why Moore was still leading MPS’ negotiations team. Graff indicated that the district’s legal counsel is looking into Moore’s texts and his apparent bid for the superintendent’s job.
There is no further information yet regarding the district’s actions on this matter.
Graff has taken plenty of heat for his role in the seemingly toxic relations between MPS and MFT while Moore has largely avoided the spotlight. But there may be an ulterior motive for allowing negotiations between the district and its employees to persist for weeks: it is putting Graff in an increasingly vulnerable position.
The Minneapolis school board voted 5-4 to renew Graff’s three-year contract last October, but he has reportedly not signed a contract yet. Aside from the challenges brought by the CDD (which district officials reportedly thought would lead to a steep enrollment decline, as it has) and COVID-19, Graff has overseen the city’s first teachers strike since 1970.
Turmoil certainly appears to be roiling the district. First, school board member Josh Pauly suddenly resigned on March 17 (after securing a new job for himself with an outside tutoring company that recently scored a contract with MPS). Then, HR boss Maggie Sullivan announced her upcoming departure from MPS, even as negotiations with teachers and support staffers remain unsettled.
If the strike continues to drag on, with MPS increasingly on the hook for additional school days–which will cost the district more money–Graff may be pressured to resign, ostensibly giving Moore the opening he appears to be seeking.
What was it Abraham Lincoln had to say, about a house divided against itself being unable to stand?