Contact: Megan Boldt, megan.boldt@edmn.org, 651-245-9163 (cell)
St. Paul educators go back to the bargaining table Thursday
St. Paul, Minnesota, March 11, 2020 — St. Paul educators will go back to the bargaining table Thursday at 8 a.m. in hopes of reaching an agreement that puts students first and honors the work of educators.
“We are ready to start negotiating to get a contract that won’t leave any student or educator behind,” said Nick Faber, president of the Saint Paul Federation of Educators. “St. Paul educators miss their students and want to get back to school.”
Again, more than 3,000 SPFE members were on picket lines Wednesday, the second day educators went without pay striking for the schools their students deserve and the resources they need.
SPFE has been waiting since Monday night for district leaders to respond to a scaled-down proposal that reduces and stretches out increased staffing over multiple years to give the district flexibility in budgeting. The proposal represents just 3.4 percent of the district’s total budget over the next two years.
The district’s last proposal dramatically slashed the number of support staff educators proposed to help meet students’ needs.
SPFE’s top priorities include more mental health supports in every building, more multilingual staff to help students and families feel welcome in school, additional educators working with students with special needs and expanding restorative practices to break down racial disparities across the district.
Negotiations began last May between SPFE and the district. The union offered 31 proposals and filed for mediation in November because the district never offered counters to many of those proposals.