Supporters Rally At St. Paul School Board Meeting

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Days ahead of a vote that could lead to a strike, hundreds of teachers and supporters rallied in St. Paul at a school board meeting on Tuesday night.

St. Paul teachers have announced they will hold a strike vote on Feb. 24. If teachers authorize a strike, teachers would have to wait 10 days before walking off the job.

The teachers' union wants more school nurses and counselors and smaller class sizes, but the district says they just don't have the money to make all those changes.

The two sides had been in contract negotiations for nine months before this impasse. The two sides plan to come back to the negotiating table on Thursday.

If there's no resolution made then, the union will move forward with holding a strike vote on Monday.

In response to the scheduled vote, St. Paul Public Schools Superintendent Valerie Silva announced plans to cancel classes and lay off 2,500 non-union workers if teachers walk off the job.

"This is about our kids. We need to focus on the future of our city and our district. We cannot commit to dollars that we do not have," Silva said.

Silva added if there is a strike, school would definitely get pushed into the summer and graduation in St. Paul schools would be delayed.