Under a new contract deal that averted a strike, St. Paul teachers will see a $3,500 pay bump, 4% raises and bigger contributions to their health insurance.

The St. Paul Federation of Educators on Thursday released the first details of a new two-year contract with St. Paul Public Schools after union members voted to approve the deal this week. SPPS spokeswoman Erica Wacker said the school board will vote on the contract at their meeting next Tuesday.

The 3,700 members of St. Paul’s teachers union were prepared to walk off the job this past Monday if they didn’t reach a deal on a new contract. But after long negotiation sessions earlier this month, the sides were able to reach a settlement.

It’s the fourth consecutive two-year bargaining cycle where St. Paul teachers have either gone on strike or threatened to do so. In 2020 teachers walked out for four days and in 2022 the district was within minutes of canceling class when the sides reached a deal.

The raises in this year’s contract are not as big as those the union had initially requested from the district when negotiations started last year, but members are seeing a bigger overall pay bump than they did in their last contract approved two years ago. Though this year members won’t be seeing the $3,000 bonus that came with the last contract.

Total cost

Details on how much the new contract will cost the district were not immediately available on Thursday, nor were the costs of insurance contribution boosts. Wacker said “updated financial information” will be available after the board votes on Tuesday.

During this year’s negotiations, the district said it was in a tough spot because of an expected $107.7 million budget shortfall driven by factors including declining enrollment, the expiration of federal pandemic aid and growing operational expenses.

It’s not yet clear how much the district is going to spend on raises. But during public negotiations last year, school officials estimated union requests could top $112 million, and the district said it was willing to allocate only $12.4 million in additional funding.

Debates over pay and insurance were the biggest sticking points. Teachers in St. Paul Public Schools have a starting salary of about $49,000 if they have a bachelor’s degree. The district says half of its teachers make $90,000 or more.

Pay raises

Each of the three bargaining units represented by the union — which includes licensed staff, or teachers, community service professionals and educational assistants — received a raise, though the details for each group slightly differ.

Teachers will get a $3,500 pay increase for 2023-2024. Since the last two-year contract expired last year, the pay increase will apply retroactively to Jan. 1. In 2024-2025 teachers will see a 4% salary increase.

Community service professionals will see a raise of $3,084 for the first year, and a 4% increase in the second year. Educational assistants will see a raise of $2.25 an hour in the first year and a 4% raise in the second year.

That’s a little lower than what the union sought when negotiations were still public late last year: a $7,500 pay bump for all teachers and community service staff in the district in the first year, and a 7.5% raise in the second year. They also asked for a $5.43-an-hour raise for educational assistants followed by a 7.5% raise in the second year.

But the new raises are higher than what the district said it was willing to offer when negotiations were still public. For example, the district offered a 2% raise in the first year, and a 3% increase for teachers at the lowest pay level.

2022 contract

This year’s contract deal secured the teachers union’s three bargaining units bigger raises than they got in the last cycle.

In 2022 teachers got two consecutive 2% raises for teachers and community service professionals.

Educational assistants got hourly raises of $1 or $1.25 in April of that year and another $1 raise in January. The first step and lane on their salary schedule were eliminated.

That contract brought the pay for EAs to between $18.85 and $37.55 per hour.

Staff also got a $3,000 bonus.

Other contract details

In addition to the pay increases, the school district will make increased contributions to health insurance for educators and maintain current class sizes. Staffing for mental health teams in each school will remain at the same level.

The district will also establish a “site council” at each school that includes educators parents, teachers and administrators to “ensure all voices are heard in decisions on budget priorities, events and other site-level issues.”

Special education teachers will get more time to complete paperwork and early childhood special education teachers will have reduced caseloads.

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At this point, it’s safe to say “Hairspray” has earned its place as a modern musical theater classic.

Based on underground writer/director John Waters’ 1988 foray into PG-rated mainstream fare, “Hairspray” the musical enjoyed a run of more than six years on Broadway and won eight Tony Awards, including best musical, book, score and direction. It has since been re-adapted for the big screen in 2007, staged live on NBC in 2016 and reworked as “Hairspray Jr.” for high schools. It’s also long since become a touring favorite and big draw for regional productions.

Set in 1962 Baltimore, “Hairspray” follows plus-size teen Tracy Turnblad (Caroline Eiseman) and her attempts to not only appear as a dancer on the afternoon teenage dance TV program “The Corny Collins Show,” but to replace its once-a-month “Negro Day” with a fully integrated show where teens of all colors share the same stage every day.

Those standing in Tracy’s way are her mother Edna (played as always by a man, Greg Kalafatas, in homage to the late drag queen Divine’s performance in the original film), “Corny Collins” producer Velma Von Tussle (Sarah Hayes) and Von Tussle’s daughter Amber (Caroline Portner), who sees herself as the show’s royalty alongside her boyfriend Link Larkin (Skyler Shields).

The touring version of “Hairspray” that opened Wednesday at St. Paul’s Ordway Center for the Performing Arts has plenty going for it, including the inventive staging, dazzling dance numbers, colorful costumes and a mostly strong ensemble cast.

Eiseman is a bit too chirpy and cartoonish as Tracy, and Kalafatas can’t help but be overshadowed by the man who played Edna at the show’s most recent local run in January 2023 at Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theatre. (That would be Andrew Levitt, who is best known for competing as Nina West in the 11th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and winning Miss Congeniality in the process.)

Still, the infectious cheer of “Hairspray” along with its core goal of using the power of song and dance to celebrate inclusion and acceptance are enough to overlook a few weaknesses up front. This production, however, suffers from a serious — and fatal — flaw.

The key to any great musical is, well, the music. Songs aren’t just used as a diversion from the dialogue, they actively advance the plot and offer insights into the motivations and emotions of the characters on stage. In many ways, “Hairspray” serves as a textbook example of how to expertly incorporate music and text to create the unique and magical entertainment known as musical theater.

The problem at the Ordway was an utterly botched sound mix that made it near impossible to hear the words of the songs. In all but the quietest numbers, the booming orchestra drowned out the lyrics, with only Kalafatas and Deidre Lang’s Motormouth Maybelle able to occasionally break through the noise. And this is a show stuffed with in-song gags and references that got buried under so much bluster.

It’s possible it was just opening night tech problems, although the sound issues didn’t improve as the show marched forward. Perhaps the crew was rattled after Tuesday’s opening night performance was canceled due to the need to replace damaged lighting equipment.

Whatever the case, this “Hairspray” will leave the show’s veteran audience members disappointed and, I imagine, newcomers utterly confused.

‘Hairspray’

When: Through March 17
Where: Ordway Music Theater, 345 Washington St., St. Paul
Tickets: $165-$45 via 651-224-4222 or ordway.org
Capsule: This “Hairspray” is a hairdon’t.

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