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The St. Paul Federation of Teachers and community allies are calling on the National Football League and the Super Bowl Host Committee – including US Bank and Ecolab – to invest in public schools.
They issued their call at a news conference Wednesday outside the Economic Club of Minnesota, where a Super Bowl LII Panel was being held in preparation for the championship game in Minneapolis in February.
Funding for public schools in Minnesota has declined since 2003 in real dollars, while the needs of students continue to grow, the group said in a statement. “Schools that primarily serve students of color and low income students feel this underfunding most of all.”
While funding for public schools declined, large corporations avoided paying millions in taxes through loopholes and tax breaks. US Bank avoided paying $10 million in Minnesota state income taxes last year and Ecolab holds $2.1 billion in profits in offshore tax havens, the group said.
“This money could have been used in our schools to hire more mental health professionals, provide universal preschool, or expand restorative practices to slow down the school-to-prison pipeline,” the group said.
“There is no shortage of wealth in Minnesota and in Saint Paul,” said Nick Faber, elementary school science teacher on release serving as president of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers. “We just chose to give that money to millionaires and corporations instead of to public schools.”
The teachers called on the corporations that have invested millions of dollars to bring the Super Bowl to Minneapolis, to also invest in communities and in public school students.
“Racial bias and corporate power should not hinder the success of our students, but that is exactly what is happening to students of color all over the Twin Cities,” said Hani Ali, an organizer with the Movement for Black Lives in Minneapolis.
In addition to educators, participants in the news conference included the Minneapolis-based worker center CTUL, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha/Center of Workers United in Struggle; Black Lives Matter Minneapolis and members of Minnesotans for a Fair Economy.