St. Paul teachers and school board avoid any strike, reach agreement

St. Paul teachers and the school board have struck a deal.

The St. Paul Education Board of Trustees voted unanimously at their regular board meeting on Wednesday to accept an agreement with the Greater St. Paul teachers that was established a week prior.

On Feb. 4, SPERD voted 92 per cent to accept the agreement.

“At the meeting, teachers spoke about the difficult economic situation facing many of our communities and their desire to reach a fair settlement without taking job action,” said Connie Landsiedel, Local ATA President.

“Overall, what is important is that our students did not lose out on any time in the classroom.”

Heather Starosielski, SPERD Board Chair, said the new two-tiered bargaining model presented some challenges for both parties, but they think reached a fair deal.

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to thank our community and stakeholders for their patience throughout this negotiation process. We trust we have reached a fair deal with our teachers that takes into account the best interests of our students, the communities we serve, and the constraints of our budget,” said Starosielski.

In December, the teachers voted 90 per cent in favour of authorizing the Alberta Teachers’ Association to request a government-supervised strike vote.

There has been no comment from either party about the nature of the negotiations.