Minneapolis Public Schools teachers and staff and members of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers rallied outside the district offices before a school board meeting in 2021. (Jeff Wheeler, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Educators and administrators in the Minneapolis and St. Paul school districts all say they are committed to regaining stability after two of the most turbulent years students and staff have ever faced.

But the path toward stability is proving hard to agree upon.

After months of increasingly tense contract negotiations, unions representing teachers and support staff in both districts voted last week to authorize strikes, if necessary. Should the unions choose to go that route, they must give the school districts 10 days notice.

"We have tried everything else," said Greta Callahan, president of the teacher chapter of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers. "A strike is a last resort, and we are really hoping that our leaders are going to do the right thing for our kids because all of this can be avoided."

Shifts to and from distance learning, widespread staffing shortages and a rise in student mental health and behavior issues have overstretched and stressed teachers in all corners of the state. Union leaders say teachers need more help to meet students' needs and higher wages to ensure educators come into the schools and stay. They point to federal relief funding and the state's $7.7 billion surplus as ways to fund the requests.

But district leaders say the requests don't fit into the budget, particularly amid plummeting enrollments. Fewer students mean less state funding for schools, and the federal relief money comes with expiration dates and recommendations against spending it on costs that would outlast the funds' sunset date.

In a news conference this month, St. Paul Superintendent Joe Gothard noted the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and other events that have left young people hurting.

"Now more than ever, our community needs to come together and support each other," he said.

There's still time for agreement: Mediation sessions in both districts are scheduled for early this week.

The St. Paul Federation of Educators went on a three-day strike two years ago, shortly before the pandemic pushed schools into distance learning. The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers hasn't gone on strike in half a century, Callahan said.

Both unions are pushing for added mental health support for students, smaller class sizes and measures — including higher wages — to help recruit and retain educators. Wages and the addition of student mental health teams within schools proved sticking points in the 2020 negotiations in St. Paul.

"We have to get to this point before [district leaders] take what we say seriously," said Leah VanDassor, president of the St. Paul Federation of Educators. "That pattern is getting a little tiresome, and we'd like to be able to finish this up without having to go on strike."

The relationship between the Minneapolis teachers union and the district has been fraught throughout the pandemic. In January 2021, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge with the state Public Employment Relations Board and received a temporary restraining order from the court to allow some staff to work remotely.

The Minneapolis federation has rallied around raising the starting salary for education support professionals from $24,000 to $35,000 and increasing teacher salaries to compete with surrounding districts. Nearly 650 teachers, including 120 teachers of color, have left the district over the past year and a half, Callahan said.

"That creates unstable conditions," she said.

More than 90% of the Minneapolis' teachers education support professionals and teachers voted last week with 98% and 97%, respectively, voting in support of a potential strike.

"Our members had a clear message that the time is now to invest in our hourly workers," said Shaun Laden, president of the union's education support professionals chapter. "We need to make sure folks can afford to stay in [the jobs.]"

On Monday, Minneapolis Superintendent Ed Graff sent a letter to families saying the union's proposals were not "fiscally feasible" and represent a 54% increase over their current base salaries.

In a statement Friday, the district said it has "shared values" with the union and has requested additional mediation sessions beyond the three that were scheduled with the union.

Graff's letter to parents said that in the event of a strike, classes would be canceled and the school year may have to be extended.

"I want to take this moment to recognize the uncertainty that we may all be feeling as a result" of a potential strike, Graff wrote.

Kelly Jackson, president of North Community High School's PTA, said parents are worried about what a strike would mean for students' safety and access to school meals. And the concern about safety, she said, has only increased since Deshaun Hill, a 15-year-old North Community student, was shot and killed a few blocks from the school this month.

"I think our kids and families in north Minneapolis have been through enough and now there's this extra piece of a possible strike," Jackson said.

Leah Harp, a North High parent, said she supports the teachers and the issues they are raising, particularly around increasing wages for support staff. But the potential strike has them scrambling to make a plan for where students could be if classes are called off.

In St. Paul, more than 78% of St. Paul Federation of Educators voted to strike. Nearly two-thirds of the approximately 3,680 members voted Thursday, including teachers, educational assistants, and school and community service professionals.

The union is calling for a fully staffed mental health team in every building as well as smaller classes, more support staff for students with special needs and higher wages to attract teachers to the district.

Gothard said at the news conference this month that the district invested in support staff after 2020 negotiations and has used federal relief money to pay for "many of the priorities that we are being asked to fund." Among those priorities were additional school counselors and social workers, as well as efforts to recruit and retain teachers of color.

"We simply do not have the budget to support the wage increases and additional staff and supports that [the union] is asking for," Gothard said.