Tentative teacher contract drives costs $3.5M over what district planned

St. Paul Public Schools has committed to hire the equivalent of 30 full-time support staff, including counselors and social workers under a tentative agreement between the district and teachers, some details of which were released Monday.

The union leadership recommended the contract agreement be ratified. Membership is expected to vote on Friday.

The district also will set aside $4.5 million over the next three years for restorative justice in schools, with six schools piloting the practice next year. They'll have a goal of three additional pilots each of the next two years. Staff additions and restorative justice were union priorities.

Teacher raises would average two percent per year, retroactive to Jan 9, 2016.

St. Paul Human Resources Executive Director Laurin Cathey said the deal comes in $3.5 million over what the district had planned.

"We've got to make some tough decisions about how we afford it long-term," Cathey says. "The dollar amount is higher than our break-even point, but in all negotiations both sides have to give a little bit."

Cathey says to balance its books, the district may have to cut staff in other areas. St. Paul Public Schools spokesman Ryan Vernosh said the district will release the specifics over the next few months.

"It is way too early to comment on what that's going to look like, how that's going to play out," Vernosh said. "We just need to let the process play out as we examine all of the different inputs that go into that and feedback from a variety of different sources."

The district and the union will continue discussing several topics outside of the bargaining process, including testing and academic freedom for teachers, administration officials said.

The St. Paul school board plans to vote on the agreement in March.