The countdown to a St. Paul teacher strike has begun.

The St. Paul Federation of Educators filed a notice of intent to strike Wednesday morning, starting a 10-day cooling off period. If it can’t reach agreement on a new two-year labor contract, the school district will temporarily close on March 10 for some 37,000 students.

“As we have said before, we do not take the decision to strike lightly, but strongly feel this is necessary if we hope to build the schools and profession our students and educators deserve,” the message read.

Union members voted Thursday to authorize a strike. There’s been just one day of mediation since, Superintendent Joe Gothard said.

“The District’s team was available all weekend for discussions and our requests for additional mediation sessions went unheeded. 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,” he said in a prepared statement.

Negotiations resume Friday. Additional sessions are scheduled for March 5 and 6, and the union says more days will be scheduled.

“Educators have pushed the district to settle the contract since we started bargaining in May,” union president Nick Faber said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate it took district leaders nine months and a strike authorization to feel that same urgency.”

The union intended to set the strike date for March 9 but said the state Bureau of Mediation Services is requiring them to wait one additional day.

If the teachers do strike, the district said it will offer free meals and activities to students at select elementary schools; secondary students will be encouraged to learn on their own using school-issued iPads.

Gothard is hopeful that won’t be necessary.

“There isn’t this great feeling of animus in the (negotiating) room. We just haven’t moved quickly enough,” he said.

On Wednesday morning, educators demonstrated before class on the sidewalks outside their schools.

Building stewards instructed members participating in the “informational” picketing to emphasize that the looming strike is not about educator pay and benefits but what’s good for students.

The school district has offered the union — which represents teachers, educational assistants and school and community service professionals — salary schedule increases of 1.5 percent this year and 2 percent next year, at a total cost of $9.6 million.

In addition, they’ve offered to spend $1.2 million on additional mental health staff.

The union wants pay increases of 3.4 percent and 2 percent. Its teachers made $75,199 on average last year, second most among Minnesota school districts.

The union has made a long list of non-salary proposals, as well, demanding mental health teams at every school, lighter workloads for special education teachers, the hiring of 50 multilingual staffers and a lasting commitment to restorative practices.

Gothard said the district estimates those proposals would cost $53 million a year. And he noted Wednesday that the district did hire numerous counselors, special education teachers and English language specialists last year, even as enrollment fell.

Outside Highland Park Middle School on Wednesday, music teacher Beth Swanberg said she sees multiple students each day who would benefit from additional mental health support staff.

“They come in the classroom and they’re not ready to learn,” she said.

WALZ WEIGHS IN

Asked Tuesday about the planned strike, Gov. Tim Walz said St. Paul teachers’ concerns about mental health “is an absolute issue across the state.”

The governor reiterated his call to “change how we do school finance in Minnesota,” citing the difficulty school districts face in adjusting their budgets when enrollment drops.

St. Paul this school year came up $4.4 million short on projected state aid as more students than expected opted for charter schools and neighboring districts.

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His education commissioner, Mary Cathryn Ricker, was president of the St. Paul teachers union in 2012, when it began bargaining for issues outside of the usual salary, benefits and working conditions.

The state Bureau of Mediation Services has been trying to broker a deal since the teachers union called for their help in December.

Dave Orrick contributed to this report.