Classes Canceled at St. Paul Schools as Teachers Strike

(courtesy: Fox 9)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Teachers at St. Paul Public Schools went on strike after last-minute efforts to reach a contract agreement failed.

The school district and the union that represents teachers negotiated for six straight days and talked until 3 a.m. Tuesday in an effort to avert a strike.

But the union said there was no significant movement on bigger issues.

The district’s first strike since 1946 canceled classes for roughly 36,000 students and forced parents to make alternate plans for their children.

The union is seeking additional resources for mental health, multilingual and special education.

District officials asked that the negotiations go to arbitration, but the union wasn’t interested.