St. Albert Public Schools said it hopes bargaining can resolve differences between teachers and the province without a strike.
The teachers union will vote from June 5-8 and, if passed, members will have 120 days to initiate a strike. Teachers could walk off the job before the end of the school year, or during the start of the 2025-26 academic year.
In an email statement, the St. Albert Public Schools division said it awaits developments.
"The bargaining is at the central (provincial) bargaining stage right now," the division said. "We will await direction from TEBA as the situation progresses. We hope that a resolution will be found soon, with minimal disruption to school operations, our staff, our students and our families."
The last day of classes for St. Albert Public Schools students is June 25, while students in the Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools will finish on June 26.
The strike vote follows the authorization vote last month after the rejection of the latest mediator's recommendations for a new collective agreement between the Teachers' Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) and the ATA Central Table Bargaining Committee (CTBC).
"They've already shown their determination and their commitment with the strike authorization vote, and I expect that it'll be the same level of commitment when we get to the strike vote," said Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) president Jason Schilling.
"Our teachers voted overwhelmingly for the association to authorize a strike vote, and to the tune of 99.45 per cent, and that is a pretty loud and clear message from teachers to government that they need to do more for publicly funding education in Alberta, and we've been talking about that for a while," he said.
He said Alberta spends the least amount of money on public education, and underfunding has affected the quality of education students receive.
"We're seeing larger class sizes than we've ever seen before," Schilling said. "We have students with special needs that are not being met. We are not able to effectively address English language learners coming into the system."
He said members have raised concerns over students not being able to get what they need in Alberta classrooms.
"We need more teachers; we need more education assistance; we need more schools; we just need more resources," Schilling said. "The government has failed to fund education properly, to match student enrolment over the last several years, plus inflation, and this is why we're in the spot that we are now."
In a negotiated settlement, teachers are looking for a salary that is fair, reasonable and keeps up with inflation, as well as a way to make sure students' needs are met, he said.
"We're always open to having conversations with the employer side about moving things forward, and we'll just have to wait and see what happens," said Schilling.
