Lakeville teachers have reached a tentative contract agreement with their school district, averting a strike that could have started as soon as May 10.

After a 12-hour mediation session on Monday, Education Minnesota Lakeville announced it had reached a new two-year employment contract with Lakeville Area Schools. The sides had struggled for months to reach an agreement in large part because of a dispute over job transfers.

Exact details of the contract won’t be available until the union communicates them to its membership, union representatives said in its announcement. Then membership will have to vote to approve it before the school board can ratify.

The union and district reached a tentative agreement in February. But in March, union members overwhelmingly rejected it. Talks had been in mediation since December.

“After the hardest fight for a fair contract our union has ever experienced, we’re so proud of the agreement we’ve reached with the district,” said Johannah Surma, the union’s lead negotiator.

In a news release, Lakeville schools officials said: “The tentative agreement supports our students, teachers, staff and school community as a whole. It also ensures continuity in our educational services.”

Details on the contract are still private, but teachers in the district wanted pay raises, benefit increases, and to continue having a say in whether the district can transfer them between teaching assignments.

A strike would shut down a school district serving around 12,000 students in Lakeville, as well as parts of Burnsville, Elko New Market, and other south Twin Cities suburbs.

Negotiations have been ongoing since July 2023, soon after the previous contract between the district and union expired. Lakeville schools officials say while the state increased education funding last year, it’s still facing budget shortfalls, making it difficult to accommodate teacher wage increase requests.

Teachers also wanted to stop the district from making changes that would allow administrators to transfer teachers between schools, grades and subject areas without teachers’ input.

Union representatives argue the so-called “forced transfer language” would upset stability in schools and disrupt relationships between teachers and students.

The district said it proposed “modest” changes to teaching assignment rules in order to help meet staffing needs at its schools.

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