Board ratifies two-year EM Spark contract covering roughly 147 employees

The Saint Louis Park School Board approved a two-year labor agreement with the EM Spark employee group on Wednesday, voting 7-0 to ratify terms negotiated after five sessions and a tentative agreement on Feb. 25.

Director Lowey, who presented the agreement, described the group as the district's second-largest bargaining unit and said the contract covers "instructional assistants, kindergarten assistants, media assistants, special ed assistants, and health aides" across early learning through the transition-plus program. Lowey said the unit represents about "147 employees and about 105 FTEs."

Lowey summarized the economic terms: "In year 1 and year 2, we increased all steps by 2%. We also in year 2, we removed steps 1, 2, and 3 to start, to increase the starting rate of pay..." She also said the contract replaces a prior career increment with a retention stipend to make compensation clearer and more consistent across bargaining units. The union ratified the contract on March 9, Lowey said.

Board members thanked staff for negotiating consistent language across several bargaining units and for aligning the economic impacts with district financial responsibilities. The motion to approve the agreement passed unanimously, 7-0.

The contract covers the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years and district staff will implement pay changes and communicate them to affected employees.