Grand Rapids — After months of negotiations, Grand Rapids Public Schools and the Grand Rapids Education Association have finalized an agreement regarding teacher contracts for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years.
The collective bargaining agreement, reached with the help of a state-appointed mediator, was ratified by GREA members on Dec. 11, and made official on Dec. 15 when the GRPS Board of Education voted unanimously to approve it. It includes salary increases ranging from $2,000 to more than $10,000 per teacher, depending on experience, education level and years of service. It also increases the frequency with which teachers will receive pay bumps in the future, among other benefits.
‘I think it’s a victory, and it’s been a really productive bargain.’
— GREA President Matt Marlow
In a statement from GRPS, the district estimated that the two-year agreement means an additional $10.4 million spent on educators through wage increases, constituting an 11.8% increase in the district’s investment in its educators.
Both the district and the teachers union hail the agreement as a win for GRPS, its educators and its students.
“This agreement provides our educators with a well-deserved, historic pay increase this year from GRPS,” district Communications Director Luke Stier told SNN. “We really believe that this reflects our deep belief that educators shape the future of our community, and we’re confident that this agreement will help retain our teachers and staff and also help attract new educators to our district.”
GREA President Matt Marlow said that though the union’s work to ensure adequate compensation for teachers will be ongoing, the agreement is a big step in the right direction.
“I think it’s a victory, and it’s been a really productive bargain,” Marlow told SNN. “It was a long bargain, it was challenging, but I think that the district put in quite a bit of investment, looking at their budget, looking at the percentage that they put toward it.”
‘Educators shape the future of our community’
Teacher salaries were key to the bargaining process, and Marlow said the district and the union were able to make some sizable gains on that front. The new agreement will allow for GRPS teachers to receive raises on an yearly basis rather than once every three years. A full breakdown of the salary schedule can be found here.
‘This agreement provides our educators with a well-deserved, historic pay increase this year from GRPS.’
— district Communications Director Luke Stier
“Now, we’ve switched it to where we’re back to annual increases, so people will get an increase each year, and that was a huge piece of the bargaining,” Marlow said.
In the district’s statement on the matter, Superintendent Leadriane Roby touted the agreement as a “milestone” that “reflects our deep belief that educators shape the future of our community, and reinforces that GRPS is the district of choice for top educators in West Michigan.”
Added Roby, “We are confident this agreement will help retain our exceptional teachers and staff, while also attracting new educators to our district.”
In addition to compensation benefits, the district reports that the agreement also includes increased planning time and monetary stipends for elementary teachers; updated teacher evaluation and discipline processes; increased insurance contributions and retirement payouts; higher payments for teachers assigned to teach overloaded classes; more paid bereavement leave; and a reduction in required parent-teacher conference time.
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