By: K. Michelle Moran | Grosse Pointe Times | Published September 11, 2024
GROSSE POINTES — After months of negotiation, the Grosse Pointe Board of Education reached a contract deal with the Grosse Pointe Education Association — the union that represents Grosse Pointe Public School System teachers — just before students returned to the classroom after Labor Day.
After a tentative agreement was reached Aug. 21, the school board unanimously approved the tentative contract at a meeting Aug. 27 at Brownell Middle School in Grosse Pointe Farms. Taryn Loughlin, co-president of the GPEA, said they presented the details of the deal to their members Aug. 25, with members voting electronically Aug. 27-29. Union leaders learned the agreement had passed at around 4:30 p.m. Aug. 29, Loughlin said.
While there were elements of the contract that educators cheered, the daunting process to get there demonstrates how divided the district remains.
“We landed on a deal and we’re happy. … (But) the fact that it was (reached) in the final hours before staff reported was frustrating,” Loughlin said.
Board members were happy to finalize a new contract that they say is good for GPPSS teachers.
“I want to emphasize how much we value the partnership between the board, administration, and the staff,” Board President Sean Cotton said. “This agreement is a testament to our shared commitment to providing the best possible environment for our students and staff. When we come together with respect, understanding and a shared vision, there is nothing we cannot achieve.”
Cotton said the agreement “embodies our shared goal of excellence in education.”
Several board officials thanked GPEA Co-Presidents Loughlin and Jackie Shelson, along with district administrators such as Superintendent Andrea Tuttle and lead administrative negotiator Roy Bishop, deputy superintendent of educational services, for their hard work.
“Dr. Bishop carried the immense responsibility of balancing the complex demands of managerial rights, taxpayer dollars and the needs of our teachers,” Cotton said. “His thoughtful and measured approach ensured that we could navigate these challenges effectively.”
Loughlin said 70% of the GPEA’s membership voted on the agreement, with 97% in favor and 3% opposed. That kind of overwhelming support is unusual, she said.
“I think it exemplifies that there are things in this contract that were really great for our members,” Loughlin said. “It is an excellent contract. It is a contract that I am proud of. The numbers reflect that.”
But once again, a deal couldn’t be reached before teachers returned to work. Loughlin said the last contract expired Aug. 15. GPPSS teachers went back to work Aug. 27, she said.
Students were back in class Sept. 3.
After last year’s troubled talks — during which dozens of teachers and administrators left for positions elsewhere — Loughlin said the union “tried to be proactive” by starting bargaining in April this year instead of May. They also filed for mediation early, in June, she said.
“We saw the writing on the wall,” Loughlin said.
Loughlin said the mediator attended three of their bargaining sessions, including the last two in August, and “was beneficial” in helping them to resolve some issues.
Once again, the district saw a substantial loss of educators as contract talks dragged on all summer. While some were due to retirements, Loughlin said the most recent data they’ve been able to get from the district shows that more than 50 teachers left the GPPSS this year.
One of the biggest differences in this contract was the removal of the formula. Loughlin said the formula was instituted about 12 years ago, to the outrage of staff.
“The formula essentially gave the board permission to cut staff salaries in order to get the fund balance back to 10% or higher,” Loughlin said.
If the fund balance rose above roughly 15%, she said staffers would get a bonus.
“That only ever happened once,” Loughlin said.
What was infuriating to staff about the formula was that it penalized district employees for financial decisions made by the school board.
“How is it fair that the board gets to cut our salaries when staff has no say in how the money is spent?” Loughlin asked.
As a result, Loughlin said they greeted the demise of the formula as “a really big win.”
“This formula had become a source of contention and division,” Cotton said. “In contract law, there must be a meeting of the minds for an agreement to work. When that understanding is lost, the agreement ceases to serve its purpose. By removing the formula, we have taken a critical step toward healing those divisions and moving forward with a contract that fosters unity rather than discord.”
Other board members agreed.
“I’m very encouraged by this contract,” Board member Lisa Papas said. “Fundamentally, I never believed that teachers should … have to pay the price for (a declining fund balance). I fought to have the formula taken out … but there was no support for it.”
Board member Colleen Worden agreed with getting rid of the formula, but disagreed with Papas’ recollection about no one else wanting to eliminate it.
“I also ran (for the board) four years ago on rescinding the formula. … I’ve always believed it’s (a source) of strain, stress” for the teachers.
“I support this contract,” Worden continued. “I support our teachers. I always have. I’m thrilled they won’t have this hanging over their heads anymore.”
Another aspect of the contract that teachers are happy about is the increase in personal paid time off from two days to four days. Loughlin said last year was the first time teachers had any personal paid time off.
“The problem with what we had before was there were a lot of restrictions,” Loughlin said.
For example, she said 50% of the teachers live in the district, but if they wanted to accompany their child on a school field trip, they couldn’t do that before because they couldn’t use a sick day for that purpose. With the paid time off, they can.
All teachers get 12 individual leave bank days under this contract, Loughlin said. Two are personal business days, four are personal paid time off and six are individual leave days, which are sick days or days a teacher can take to care for their own sick child.
After making improvements to maternity leave last year — six weeks for a natural birth and eight weeks for a C-section — Loughlin said they negotiated an increase in paternity leave this year, from what had been 10 days to 15 days now.
“Our goal is to make our contract family-friendly so we can attract teachers,” Loughlin said.
There are now also caseload limits for ancillary staff — speech and language pathologists, social workers, special education resource rooms, teacher consultants and clinical fellowship assistants. Loughlin said these staffers will now receive more compensation if they have to handle more than a certain number of students, which should help the district attract people to fill these positions.
Class-size language for teachers was updated for the first time since 1975, so Loughlin said teachers will be compensated if class sizes exceed specific numbers, which acknowledges the work they do and the attention given to each student.
This is a two-year contract, which Loughlin said was the norm for the GPPSS until last year, which was only a one-year deal. She said most other districts have three-year contracts.
“I think it provides stability for staff,” said Loughlin, noting that teachers know what their salary will look like over the next two years. “Bargaining does deteriorate relations with administration because it’s combative. Having multiple year (contracts) allows us to forge a positive relationship with administration and hopefully not be so contentious.”
It also benefits the district and union financially in that neither side has to shell out as much money for legal representation during bargaining if contracts are for a longer term.
Because the formula was part of the other contracts the school board had approved earlier this summer with its other unions, Board member Terry Collins proposed removing it from those agreements as well, recognizing its unpopularity. The board voted unanimously to remove the formula language from the other contracts, which cover administrators, clerical and plant staff. The agreements with the other three unions are also for two years.
Loughlin said educators are grateful for the morale boost they received from the community, with some local residents even providing food and snacks on bargaining days.
“We want to thank the community for their support throughout the process of getting this contract,” Loughlin said. “We are incredibly appreciative of everything the community did to support us.”