SPPS, educators reach tentative contract agreement, strike ends

The contract would require the district to raise its spending by $5 million to hire more mental health professionals and an additional 10 bilingual educational assistants next school year.

“Despite a national pandemic cutting our fight short, St. Paul educators were able to win more resources for our students,” SPFE President Nick Faber said in a statement. “We won’t stop using our collective power to advocate for the public schools children and educators deserve.”

Other stipulations in the contract include:

• Expanding practices to end the school-to-prison pipeline;

• Up to six hours of mental health and trauma-informed training for educators;

• Wage increases of 1.5% in the first year of the contract, followed by a 2% raise in the second year;

• Building-based substitute teachers;

• And an agreement to call for a moratorium on new charter schools until a community impact study has been done.

St. Paul teachers went on strike on March 10 after more than nine months of negotiations on a new contract. The strike lasted three days.