Minneapolis, St. Paul parks extend recreation hours in case of teachers strike

Minneapolis and St. Paul public school teachers could go on strike as soon as Tuesday if the districts and their unions cannot reach deals, sending working parents scrambling to find child care.

On Friday, Parks Superintendent Al Bangoura announced extended hours and youth activities at recreation centers across the city as one option for Minneapolis public school students in grades K-8.

"It's been a challenging several years and our kids are struggling," Bangoura said. "This is not going to make it easier. But we want to make sure our parents know we're here."

The following recreation centers would be activated as "hub sites" for the duration of the strike: Bryant Square, Creekview, East Phillips Park, Longfellow, Luxton, Lake Nokomis, North Commons, Northeast, Sibley and Whittier. From noon to 3 p.m., the sites will offer free, structured programming for up to 45 registered youth. From 3 to 9 p.m., youths may drop in without registration.

"We are going to be offering snacks and lunches," added North Service Area manager Yvette Griffea-Gray. "Our kids will be fed."

Staff from smaller recreation centers would move to the hub sites. However, this will not affect the normal hours of 3-9 p.m. for the other 37 centers in the Minneapolis park system, including Youthline sites for teen programming and Fun on the Run pop-up activities in the parks for families from 3-5 p.m.

The Park Board offers a school-age child-care program called Rec Plus. However, like many employers, Minneapolis parks are struggling to fill vacant positions, said Interim Assistant Superintendent of Recreation Mimi Kalb during a Park Board meeting Wednesday. There are currently 18 full- and part-time positions open in Rec Plus. Those vacancies, along with state requirements of lengthy background checks for child-care workers, are preventing the parks from expanding registration to the completely full Rec Plus program as a response to the impending teacher's strike.

"It's a very difficult position to be in, to prepare for something that might not happen," said Commissioner Billy Menz, who also is a teacher at Edison High School. "I'd just like to publicly call on all parties involved to find a solution because the young people of Minneapolis do not need more tragedy or difficulty, and at least when it was online school they had school to go to. It's going to be a very, very difficult scenario."

St. Paul Parks and Recreation will also expand services to support families in the event of a St. Paul teachers strike.

Recreation centers that normally open at 2 p.m. will open at 12:30 p.m. The Rec Check childcare program's hours will move from 2-6 p.m. to 1-4 p.m. Additional activities and drop-in programs, such as open gym, will be added to St. Paul Parks' No-School Day webpage as they become available.