St. Paul Public Schools approves $37.5M in teacher pay increases, but budget cuts loom

Alex Derosier, Pioneer Press
·4 min read

Members of the St. Paul school board on Tuesday night locked in new raises and benefits for district education staff, though school budget cuts are ahead.

Under a new two-year contract agreement approved by the school board, St. Paul Public Schools will increase wages and benefits for teachers and other staff represented by the St. Paul Federation of Educators by $37.5 million — a 10.1% increase over the previous contract.

About $19.2 million of that will go toward the first year and will be offset using one-time funds. But with a more than $107 million budget shortfall expected in the coming year in large part tied to the expiration of federal pandemic aid, the district will have to find other areas to reduce spending. So far, it’s identified about $71 million in possible cuts.

“This does not change the fact that there will be budget cuts, including layoffs, across the district due primarily to the expiration of American Rescue Plan funds,” said SPPS spokesperson Erica Wacker.

St. Paul schools and the teachers union arrived at a contract agreement a little over two weeks ago as a strike loomed. They were able to reach a deal after a marathon of weekend negotiations.

The new contract contains more than three times the $12.4 million in increases for education staff the school district had initially told the union it could accommodate. But it’s also significantly under the more than $112 million in additional spending the district estimated initial union requests would cost.

Even if the district didn’t go past its ceiling for teacher compensation, it would still need to make cuts to its current budget, which sits at around $1 billion.

What’s in the contract?

Three groups represented by the 3,700-member teachers union will see raises: teachers, educational assistants and community service professionals. The new two-year contract goes into effect retroactively as the last contract expired in June 2023.

In the new agreement, teachers will get a $3,500 pay increase for 2023-24. Since the last two-year contract expired last year, the pay increase will apply retroactively to Jan. 1. In 2024-25, teachers will see a 4% salary increase.

Community service professionals will see a raise of $3,084 for the first year, and a 4% increase in the second year.

In the first year of the new contract, insurance contributions from the district for teachers and community service professionals will increase from $870 per month to $920 for single employees, and from $1,200 to $1,375 for families. In the second year, those amounts increase to $945 and $1,450, respectively.

Educational assistants will see a raise of $2.25 an hour in the first year and a 4% raise in the second year. They will also receive higher insurance contributions.

In addition to the pay increases, the school district will maintain current class sizes and staffing for mental health teams in each school.

The district will also establish a “site council” at each school that includes educators, parents, teachers and administrators to “ensure all voices are heard in decisions on budget priorities, events and other site-level issues.”

Special education teachers will get more time to complete paperwork and early childhood special education teachers will have reduced caseloads.

This was the fourth consecutive two-year bargaining cycle where St. Paul teachers have either gone on strike or threatened to do so. In 2020, teachers walked out for four days, and in 2022, the district was within minutes of canceling class when the sides reached a deal.

In this year’s negotiations, pay and insurance were the biggest sticking points. Teachers in St. Paul Public Schools have a starting salary of about $49,000 if they have a bachelor’s degree. The district says half of its teachers make $90,000 or more.

Union and district leaders say school board members were present for much of the negotiation process, something that may have made a difference in this year’s contract discussions. At Tuesday’s school board meeting, some union members used the public comment period to thank members for their involvement.

SPFE isn’t the only union representing school employees. The school board also on Tuesday approved a new 2024-26 contract for school bus drivers. Drivers represented by the Teamsters Local 320 will get an average wage increase of 3.7% in the first year and 1% in the second year, as well as higher health insurance payments and severance pay.

Related Articles