ST PAUL, Minn. — A strike is looming in the St. Paul Public School District.
The decision was authorized by 82% of teachers involved in the St. Paul Federation of Educators Local 28, on Thursday evening.
"Our executive board authorized a strike vote and we had members show up yesterday and overwhelmingly say that they are ready to strike for the things that our kids need," said Erica Schatzlein, teacher and Vice President of the St. Paul Federation of Educators.
Since May of last year, teachers have been in negotiations with the St. Paul School District, asking for more resources to assist in what they believe will help students succeed.
"Our main things that we’re asking for are mental health supports for our students in all of our schools," said Schatzlein.
"We’re asking for more multilingual support for our families, we have over a hundred languages spoken in St. Paul Public Schools and we want all of our parents and families to feel welcomed in our schools and connected to their school environment," said Schatzlein.
The federation and the school district moved into mediation back in November where district leaders offered wage increases over a two year period in a new contract, and a $1 million proposal to invest in student support teams.
However, Schatzlein says this isn’t enough.
"That would be a district wide team so the way that our budgeting works out that could be maybe roughly 10 to 11 people. We have 53 sites, 10 to 11 people is not nearly enough," said Schatzlein.
With extra days built into the school year to accommodate for missed class time, Schatzlein says this authorized strike isn’t easy.
"It's scary to think about our schools being closed and our kids not necessarily and our families not knowing whats going to happen but I think what parents need to know is that their educators are willing to literally walk the line for their kids," said Schatzlein.
The following is a statement from SPPS Superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard. This is all the information the District will be releasing at this time:
The District is committed to negotiating in good faith until a contract can be agreed upon that is fair to our educators, equitable with other union contracts and is responsible to the taxpayers of Saint Paul.
The reality is Saint Paul Public Schools is underfunded by more than $80 Million from the State of Minnesota, including Federal support for special education and related services. In addition, SPPS enrollment is down 2,000 students since the 2015-16 school year. Yet we are offering wage increases in each of the two years in a new contract and we are proposing to invest more than $1 million into additional student support positions, including nurses, counselors and social workers.
We are extremely disappointed our educators continue down a path toward a strike. Our students, families, coworkers and community expect all of us to work together and avoid a strike, and that’s what I am committed to doing.
As Superintendent and as an SPPS parent, I know the uncertainty that talk of a strike brings to our students, families and community. I can assure you the District is doing everything possible to reach an agreement before a strike happens. I remain confident that progress will be made during mediation to avoid disrupting all the great things happening in our schools.
I have instructed all members of the District bargaining team to clear their calendars, including nights and weekends, and be ready at a moment's notice to continue mediation discussions toward a contract settlement.
Dr. Joe Gothard
Superintendent
A date for the possible strike will be released next week. If no agreement is reached, this will be the first teacher strike for the school district since 1946.