Contract negotiations between St. Paul Public Schools and the teachers union will continue Monday after the two sides failed to reach an agreement during nearly 40 hours of bargaining over the weekend, district officials say.

The district said in a news release Sunday that the bargaining teams “continued to make meaningful progress” with the help of a state mediator as a strike deadline looms on March 11.

Members of the St. Paul Federation of Educators, which represents the district’s 3,700 teachers and nonlicensed staffers, voted last month to authorize a strike with 92% support.

It’s the fourth consecutive two-year bargaining cycle in which St. Paul teachers have threatened to strike. The union went on strike for four days in 2020 and almost went on strike in 2018 and 2022.

While the union and the school district say there has been some progress in closed-door mediation sessions over the last month, they’re still working through major disagreements on pay and insurance.

Early union proposals included a $7,500 pay bump for all teachers and community service personnel in the district, as well as a 7.5% raise in the second year. They’re also asking for a $5.43-an-hour raise for educational assistants followed by a 7.5% raise in the second year.

Meanwhile, the district was offering a 2% raise in the first year, and a 3% increase for teachers at the lowest pay level.

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