Educators at Community School of Excellence charter school in St. Paul reached a tentative contract agreement over the weekend, just two weeks after school leaders cut staff and restructured the school's programs.

The tentative agreement has encouraged authorizer Minnesota Guild, which has been in talks with the school to potentially be its authorizer. The school needs a new authorizer by July 1 to continue operating.

"I would anticipate that their board will approve the agreement and we will then re-engage them in a conversation around the contract," said Brad Blue, director of the Minnesota Guild.

The Guild has set conditions for the school to continue to build a strong school infrastructure and stay away from changes that weren't set in the agreement the two parties made, Blue said. Minnesota Guild received a letter from the school from which "in large measure, our initial requirements have been satisfied," he said.

Community School of Excellence hopes it can reach a contract with the Minnesota Guild by the end of the month, said the school's chief executive officer Bao Vang. The educators' tentative agreement was reached before the end of the month, proving that "we mean business," she said.

The tentative contract agreement needs to be ratified by votes from educators and the school's board of directors. The union educators at Community School of Excellence are scheduled to vote next week, according to a Tuesday release from statewide teachers' union Education Minnesota.

Teachers at the school have accused the administration of union-busting in firing approximately 20 teachers about two weeks ago, many of them union members. School administration denied that allegation. Of the eight teachers the school didn't invite back, three will be reinstated, Vang said Wednesday. She said she couldn't say why the teachers were reinstated.

The charter school is approximately 90 percent Hmong and 10 percent Karenni, according to Rob Aurand, union treasurer. Karenni people are an ethnic minority from Myanmar. Community School of Excellence is on the larger side for charters in the state with about 1,000 students.