ST PAUL, Minn. — One week from Monday, the Saint Paul Federation of Educators is set to strike if they can't reach a deal with Saint Paul Public Schools.
The two sides continue to negotiate and say they spent nearly 40 hours with mediators this weekend and will resume mediation at 9 a.m. Monday, March 4.
"I have six and a half-year-old son," said parent Amanda Cureton. "You have to plan."
The uncertainty is putting parents, like Cureton, in limbo.
"All of his friends are there, it's his routine," said Cureton. "He goes to a language immersion school, so there's only so much I can do to help him learn at home."
SPPS is one of about 130 districts in the state that still hasn't negotiated a new contract since it expired last summer. According to the statewide teachers union, Education Minnesota, this is the slowest pace of settlements in two decades.
"It's tricky," said Matt Hozza who has two kids in the district. "It's a balancing act because there's only so much money to go around, but obviously the cost of really good teachers is going up."
SPPS says it's already facing more than a $107 million budget shortfall, but that in a previous statement, it had written it doesn't, "Believe a strike is necessary to meet the needs of our students, families and staff."
SPFE says 92.4% of members voted to authorize a strike last month, which is higher than when the union authorized a strike in 2022. It narrowly avoided striking them after reaching an agreement with the district the day before the action was scheduled to begin.
The current contract offer would cost about $64 million, part of which is paid for with last year's session's historic education funding. Education Minnesota says that money, though, doesn't make up for all the years education was underfunded.
"Teachers are, and this isn't very creative, but a fundamental part of our community," said Cureton. "It seems like we have the resources in the state of Minnesota to do it and then it would take away all the uncertainty from the parents."
In a new statement on Sunday, SPPS wrote, "We remain committed to reaching an agreement and avoiding a strike that would begin on Monday, March 11. Please check spps.org/negotiations for the latest information."
Meanwhile, SPFE President Leah VanDassor also wrote, "After nearly 40 hours of mediation this weekend, our union thought we were making meaningful progress toward an agreement. However, those many hours of discussions have yet to produce a path to settlement that we believe will keep our educators in Saint Paul Public Schools and support our students."
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