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Parents and students urge board to prioritize teacher pay as district faces cuts
Summary
Dozens of students, parents and educators urged the Ann Arbor Public Schools board to prioritize teacher compensation and reverse budget choices they say have hollowed out classrooms, citing canceled clubs, rising class sizes and low morale while proposing a Citizens Finance Advisory Committee.
Dozens of parents, students and school staff pressed the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education to prioritize teacher compensation and reverse budget choices they said are harming classroom learning.
At the public-comment portion of the board's April 22 meeting, speakers described teachers working without a contract for more than 100 days, canceled extracurriculars and a wave of departures to higher-paying neighboring districts. “Teachers deserve a better contract,” said Carolyn Hutchinson, a Pioneer High School sophomore, who told trustees the district has had to cut “approximately $25 million” from the 2024–25 operating budget and that cuts have disproportionately affected arts and “less valued” extracurriculars.
Parents and students gave concrete examples of the disruption. Ben…
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