A concerning update for our neighbors in Saline regarding the Ann Arbor Public Schools teachers contract

Ann Arbor Public Schools is currently offering its teachers the lowest starting salary of any district in this region. Their teachers have gone 125+ days without a contract. A deal was offered. 99.6% voted no.

Why this matters.

The moment Ann Arbor normalizes poverty-level wages for teachers in one of Michigan's wealthiest, best-funded districts, every school board has a data point at the bargaining table:

Here is the data worth knowing:

• Michigan’s teacher wages have declined 20.6% (U.S. 2nd to last) from 1999 to 2021
• 75.2% of Michigan adults support increasing teachers' starting salary
• Michigan teacher salaries rank 44th in the nation (2024)
• Ann Arbor receives the 2nd highest per-pupil state funding in the region - yet pays the lowest starting salary of any comparable district
• Average annual salary schedule increase over 7 years: 0.7% while US inflation increased 27%
• When the district had a $20M budget shortfall in 2024, every dollar came from teacher salaries

This is not just Ann Arbor's problem. It is a regional race to the bottom unless we stop it here.

Please sign and share this petition. Show Ann Arbor that its neighbors are watching and that Michigan teachers deserve better everywhere.

https://www.change.org/p/ann-arbor-public-schools-teachers-should-be-compensated-fairly