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Education News
MPR News Staff
St. Paul

St. Paul teachers OK new contract set to boost pay, benefits

People walk out of a building
Members of the St. Paul Federation of Educators in mid-February exit the Carpenters Local Union 322 in St. Paul, after voting on whether to authorize a strike against St. Paul Public Schools. The union has ratified an agreement to avoid a strike. The school board votes next week.
Elizabeth Shockman | MPR News

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St. Paul school teachers have voted overwhelmingly to support a new two-year contract deal reached during marathon negotiating sessions last week.

The deal includes a salary increase for licensed staff of $3,500 this school year and a 4 percent increase in 2024-25; school and community service professionals get a $3,084 increase this year with 4 percent next year; educational assistants receive a $2.25 hourly increase this year with a 4 percent hike next school year, the St. Paul Federation of Educators said.

The St. Paul school board is set to review and vote on the agreement next week. The 33,000-student district and the union came together during negotiations last week, averting a threatened strike.

“With historic funding from the state, now was the time to be bold for our members and our students — and we were,” union president Leah VanDassor said in a statement disclosing details of the deal.

Beyond the salary increases, the proposed contract includes increased district contributions for health insurance as well as language maintaining current class sizes and caps and extra time for special education teachers to complete required paperwork.

Union members had been working without a contract since July of last year. Teachers came close to a strike during the last bargaining cycle of 2022 before reaching a deal with the district. In 2020, union members walked out in a three-day strike before reaching a deal.

This year, the union ratcheted up the pressure in mid-February when members authorized a strike and union leaders set a March 11 walkout date.

A district spokesperson on Friday applauded the union’s ratification of the contract deal, calling it an “important investment in our staff and the future of our district.”

District officials next week are also expected to update board members on the cost of the agreement as well as the district’s financial situation.

Despite a significant boost from the state last year, the state’s second-largest district has said it faces a $108 million budget shortfall in 2025 and warned during the negotiations that some of the union’s proposals would cost millions more than what it had budgeted.

St. Paul Public Schools received about $54 million in new state revenue this school year, but in earlier statements the district has said it would still need to withdraw some $34 million from its reserve funds to cover costs and also make “substantial budget cuts” with COVID relief money expiring.