ST. PAUL (AP) -- St. Paul Public Schools teachers and staff have voted to authorize a strike, a move the school board calls disappointing.

The St. Paul Federation of Teachers says 85 percent of voting teachers authorized a strike Wednesday, along with 90 percent of educational assistants and 82 percent of school and community service professionals.

Two mediated negotiating sessions between the teachers and the district are scheduled for Feb. 2 and 7.

The district says it's willing to take on no more than about $2 million in new costs each year of the two-year contract, which would include enough for 1 percent pay raises. The union says a strike would involve 3,100 teachers and other licensed staff, 400 educational assistants and 170 service professionals.

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