In response to letters crafted by the Minnesota Legislature urging ISD 200 to return to the mediation table, Superintendent Dr. Robert McDowell told KDWA that the District was first made aware of the letters through KSTP, as they were not provided directly to the district until Monday morning. In a statement to KDWA, Dr. McDowell said that the District is concerned that the letters suggest there is limited knowledge of what is actually happening in Hastings, and the authors only consider the union’s perspective, and they seem to be drafted without a review of information the District has made publicly available. The District’s response to the letters is that the union’s actions behind the scenes have been inconsistent with their public statements. Dr. McDowell added that ISD 200 is hopeful that the union’s bargaining team will work directly with the District’s bargaining team instead of trying to negotiate through the media or politicians who are not a part of the discussions taking place at the bargaining table. In response to an inquiry from a listener about providing meals for students during the strike, Dr. McDowell responded that the district is using a combination of current employees and a staffing agency to keep the lunchrooms operational for students.
