Minneapolis teachers approved a contract deal with the public school district Saturday, ending months of tense negotiations that culminated with a threat to strike.
“We are [pleased] to announce that our members have voted to ratify our tentative agreements!” the Minneapolis Federation of Educators union wrote in an online post.
The two-year agreement, which covers three separate union contracts, follows seven months of talks and averts what could have been the district’s second strike since 2022. That year, Minneapolis teachers picketed for nearly three weeks.
The deal now goes to the school board for final approval.
The new agreement will shrink class sizes, create manageable special education caseloads and raise pay, including a 2% increase for teachers this school year. It is expected to cost the school district roughly $35 million through 2027, falling within the budget parameters set by the school board.
Minneapolis Public Schools faced a $75 million budget shortfall this school year and expects a deficit of at least $20.5 million next school year.
The deal affects more than 4,300 employees covered under three contracts. Negotiations for those contracts began in April and made slow progress until teachers voted last month to authorize a strike.
Teachers had planned to begin the strike on Tuesday but called it off last weekend after the union and school district reached tentative terms for the deal.
