ST. LOUIS – A news conference is scheduled to highlight a landmark agreement between St. Louis Public Schools and the teachers’ union.
Teachers will see the largest 3-year pay raise in nearly 20 years under the new union contract. It’s being called an effort to combat the nationwide teacher shortage. The hope is that this will be an incentive to recruit and retain good educators.
The St. Louis Louis Board of Education approved the new contract on Tuesday. It gives most teachers a 17% raise over three years. Special education teachers will receive a 22% raise. District leaders and the local 420 of the American Federation of Teachers negotiated the contract.
According to FOX 2’s partners at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the average teacher salary is just under $54,000. Ray Cummings is the president of Local 420. He says 78% of union members approved the new contract.
In a statement, he said the following:
“This agreement demonstrates a real, good-faith effort to recruit and retain our dedicated workforce,” Cumming explained.
Teachers will see a 7% raise in the first year of the contract and 5% in both 2026 and 2027. The pay for special education teachers will jump by 10% in the first year and 6% in each of the following two years. Other staff members represented by the union will receive a minimum 10% raise during the 3-year contract.
The last negotiated contract two years ago gave teachers and staff an 8% raise. The new union contract starts in July, and the raises will start in 20–25.
A news conference to discuss this agreement between SLPs and their teachers is happening at 9:30 a.m.
