Teachers, parents and union members press Grand Rapids board for higher pay and more staff

Hundreds of community members filled the Grand Rapids Board of Education meeting on Sept. 15 to press the board for higher teacher pay and faster action on staffing shortages, particularly in special education.

The public-comment period featured dozens of teachers, parents and union representatives who said low wages and chronic vacancies were forcing educators to leave GRPS, harming student learning and forcing families to consider other districts.

“We need to have a place and a space for our scholars to continue to learn and grow,” said Jolene Andrews, identifying herself with Southwest Elementary. Andrews told the board she checked neighboring districts and found 56 open certified teaching positions listed for GRPS compared with single-digit vacancies in many nearby districts. “GRPS can’t afford to not pay its teachers better,” she said.

Special-education teachers and parents gave specific counts of understaffing. Kaitlyn Homewood, who said she works in special education, listed vacancies across multiple buildings and estimated roughly 132 students affected by missing or unfilled special-education positions. “Students in our schools are being denied access to free public education under IDEA,” Homewood said, and asked the board to order a staffing audit and notify parents whether their child’s IEP is staffed as written.

Several early-career and long-term teachers described unpaid overtime, unpaid classroom costs and personal financial strain. “My salary as a young teacher in GRPS is $44,916 a year,” said Meg Johnson, who identified herself as a second-year teacher; she broke the pay down to roughly $31.19 an hour and said many teachers supplement income with outside jobs. Kelsey Babblebe, a second-year teacher at Ottawa Hills, described carrying student-loan debt and paying out of pocket for frst-aid for her apartment when needed.

Allison Blom, a current long-term substitute at Congress Elementary, said she formed a nonprofit to support teachers and pleaded with the board: “Give these teachers a raise because they deserve it.”

Union and community leaders urged structural change. Jane Neiman, vice president of the Grand Rapids Education Association (GREA), said the district had violated contract language in the recent pay process and warned that teachers’ ability to remain would depend on a fair bargaining outcome. Tim Russ of the Michigan Education Association said a teacher with a master’s plus additional credits could lose the equivalent of $213,000 over a 30‑year career by staying in GRPS rather than taking similar work in neighboring districts.

Community organizations offered possible revenue options. Erica Van Dyke of the Urban Core Collective described the Invest in My Kids ballot initiative — a proposed surcharge on very high incomes — as one option to raise statewide school funding and invited the board to meet with organizers.

Superintendent Dr. Keisha Roby acknowledged the public comments in brief remarks, saying district leaders hear the concerns and are constrained by multiple variables but that “discourse is always okay.” She asked the public to maintain respectful engagement as negotiations and budget work continue.

Board members said they heard the message. Trustee Williamson said the district faces a “trust deficit” and urged all parties to take steps toward rebuilding trust. Vice President Wade stressed fiscal responsibility but said teacher retention must be a high priority. Multiple trustees said they were working behind the scenes to advance negotiations and explore budget options.

Why it matters: Teachers and certified staff deliver daily instruction; board members and negotiators said they face competing fiscal constraints while community speakers warned continued vacancies and turnover would worsen learning conditions and prompt families to leave the district.

What the board will do next: The board carried routine agenda items and voted to go into closed session for collective bargaining and legal counsel (see related vote article). The finance committee is scheduled to meet Sept. 22; an ad hoc facilities meeting is scheduled Oct. 13, both with locations to be announced. Speakers urged the board to pursue an amended budget or other immediate steps to support a fair contract.

Ending: As comments concluded, dozens of speakers — teachers, parents, students and union leaders — left the board with a single, repeated request: pay teachers enough to live in Grand Rapids, staff every special-education classroom and stop long-term reliance on substitute teachers.