St. Paul Board of Education to hold special meeting amid pushback on ELL educator cuts

The St. Paul Board of Education will hold a special meeting Friday afternoon to evaluate a revised plan to get out of a multi-million-dollar hole after significant pushback from parents and teachers.

The board's original proposal called for cutting 18 English learner teachers across the district. Now, the district is hoping to save money through early retirement and unfilled positions instead. 

The district would keep more than 10 vacant positions unfilled, then also offer early retirement to between seven and 12 English learner teachers. That could save nearly $2.3 million, and district leaders say other budget adjustments could lead to a total savings of around $5.3 million.

The district says it's losing more than 500 English learner students this school year, which is 542 fewer than projected. That's nearly $5 million in lost funding.

District leaders have pointed in part to Operation Metro Surge and the federal immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities.

Some worried cutting services could hurt students who rely on extra language support. That backlash led the school board to unanimously postpone a vote after a meeting that lasted about five hours.

The school board is set to discuss the new plan, and talk about how to make up for lost funding, in a meeting set for 4 p.m.

This story will be updated.