March 5, 2020
Please read this very important information about a possible teacher strike that would impact your family and every family in the District. SPPS will send updates daily to keep you informed about this fluid situation.
Since May our district has been negotiating a new employment contract with Saint Paul Federation of Educators (SPFE), the labor union that includes Teachers, Educational Assistants and School and Community Service Professionals. Mediation will continue through the weekend.
If SPPS and SPFE are unable to reach an agreement by the end of Monday, SPFE has announced it will call a strike beginning Tuesday, March 10. This means SPFE members will not report to work until the two parties reach an agreement on a new contract.
I want you to know the Board of Education and our administrative staff are developing plans to help care for your children in case a strike takes place. I am able to give you an overview now, and I ask you to watch your email, social media, spps.org/negotiations and other information sources closely in the coming days for additional details.
Monday, March 9
- Students will report to school as usual. After-school activities will take place. Transportation and other services will continue as normal.
If a strike happens:
Tuesday, March 10 - Wednesday, March 11
- All ECSE classes and services, and PreK-12 classes, will be canceled. Please make childcare arrangements for your children on those days.
- Breakfast and lunch will be available at many school and community sites to all students age 18 and under.
- All students in grades 6-12 will be able to keep their iPads, and will have access to standards-based academic activities online.
- Varsity athletics will continue for the duration of the strike on a case by case basis. All middle school sports, high school JV and C squads and practices are postponed.
Thursday, March 12 - Friday, March 13
- SPPS will open seven SPPS Kid Space sites for students in grades K-5 only. The sites will be open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kid Space will be staffed by non-striking SPPS staff and located in SPPS schools.
- Busing will be available to SPPS Kid Space sites. Students will report to their nearest Kid Space bus stop, where a bus will take them to one of the Kid Space sites. Buses will return students to their Kid Space bus stop at the end of the day. Details about Kid Space sites and bus stops will be available at 7:30 a.m. on the first day of a strike, registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. the same day.
- There will be no nurse or health care staff at the Kid Space sites. If your child has special health, medical or other needs, the District may not be able to accommodate them.
- Kid Space is not an academic program. Kids will participate in safe, age-appropriate activities. Breakfast and lunch will be served.
- Breakfast and lunch will be available at numerous school sites to all students age 18 and under; locations will be shared on a continuous basis.
I hope with all my heart that none of these plans will be necessary. However, I must ask you again to watch your email, texts and social media closely so we can keep you informed of next steps should a strike take place.
We are trying our hardest to keep that from happening.
Please direct questions to the Student Placement Office at 651-632-3700.
In partnership,
Joe Gothard
Superintendent
