KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – With just a few weeks before classes begin for Kalamazoo Public Schools student, there is still no contract with the teachers’ union, and those teachers turned out at last night’s KPS Board of Education meeting to remind trustees that the clock is ticking.
Kalamazoo Education Association President Heather Reid says the district has seen a lot of teachers leave in the last year, and if they want to prevent that from happening, they need to improve pay.
Association representative Amanda Miller says the district has plenty of cash, with plenty in their rainy day fund and an unprecedented boost in their state allocation.
Superintendent Darrin Slade says the district may have given a big raise to bus drivers this year, but that was because they were underpaid. He says that’s not true with teachers.
Board of Education members say they hear what the union members are saying, but it’s really a function of the administration to work out a tentative deal.
Strikes by public workers in Michigan, like teachers, are strictly prohibited by state law.
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