Summer school is short of paraprofessionals

The Cloquet School District is hiring. For the first time in his tenure, superintendent Michael Cary said not enough paraprofessionals applied for summer care jobs.

“We were short one person for three weeks, Monday through Thursday, so 12 days,” Cary told school board members during Tuesday’s meeting. “So by contract, we’re having to go from most senior to least senior and offer formal employment one by one until we find somebody willing to take the job.”

Cary suspected why there was a dramatic dip in summer applicants: unemployment insurance.

After the 2023 Minnesota legislative session, para...