Historic Agreement Finalized After Months of Negotiations

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Grand Rapids Board of Education has voted unanimously to approve a landmark two-year contract with the Grand Rapids Education Association that brings significant wage increases and expanded benefits to educators across the district.

The agreement represents an additional $10.4 million investment in GRPS educators, translating to an 11.8% increase in compensation packages. Raises for individual employees range from $2,000 to more than $10,000, based on years of service and education level.

This is a milestone day as we demonstrate how vital it is to invest in our educators, said Superintendent Dr. Leadriane Roby. By strengthening compensation and support, we are honoring the work our educators do every day and reinforcing our commitment to retaining and attracting exceptional staff for our scholars.

Breaking From the Status Quo

The new contract marks a departure from the previous model, which saw GREA members receive raises only every three years. Under the new agreement, educators will receive annual raises over the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years.

This is a milestone agreement that reflects our deep belief that educators shape the future of our community and reinforces that GRPS is the district of choice for top educators in West Michigan, Roby said. We are confident this agreement will help retain our exceptional teachers and staff, while also attracting new educators to our district.

The GREA members ratified the contract last week, and the agreement takes effect immediately, with employees seeing changes to their paychecks in early 2026.

Retroactive Wage Increases

In a significant benefit to educators, all employees will receive their wage increase retroactively to the beginning of the 2025-26 school year. According to GRPS Director of Communications Luke Stier, the contract has already been approved and GREA members should see the financial changes reflected in their paychecks at the start of the next pay cycle.

This is a milestone day for us. It shows how we are investing in our educators, and that we are a district for educators to come to and stay at, Stier said.

Expanded Benefits and Working Conditions

Beyond salary increases, the tentative agreement includes numerous other improvements to working conditions and benefits for GREA members:

Elementary Teacher Support

• Increased elementary planning time and monetary stipends
• Elementary teachers may receive a monetary stipend for planning time performed outside of the contractual workday
• The planning stipend amount was substantially increased for both 2025-26 and 2026-27
• For 2026-27, the district was able to increase elementary teacher planning time scheduled during the contractual work day

Professional Development and Evaluation

• Negotiated process and procedure for conducting teacher evaluations
• Evaluations will include observations, use of student growth and assessment data, and addressing performance deficiencies
• Process for investigating allegations of staff misconduct and implementing discipline when appropriate

Financial Benefits

• Increased insurance contributions - district will continue to pay the insurance cap rates published by the Department of Treasury
• Increases to retirement payout - teachers receive a payout for unused sick days if they provide notice of their retirement before spring break
• The per diem amount for calculating retirement payout was increased to incentivize teacher attendance
• Increases to class overload payments - teachers receive a per student/per day payment if assigned to teach a class over the class size maximum
• The amount paid per student/per day was increased

Leave Improvements

• Improved paid bereavement leave - district will provide two days of paid bereavement leave for immediate family in addition to sick and personal days received under the contract

Parent-Teacher Conferences

• Reduction in contractual parent-teacher conference time
• However, all scholars' parent/guardian must still have an opportunity to have a conference with their teacher in both fall and spring

State-Mediated Agreement

The tentative agreement was reached with the assistance of a state-appointed mediator, indicating the complexity and length of negotiations between the district and the teachers' union.

What Comes Next

The agreement must be ratified by both the Board of Education and the GREA bargaining unit before it becomes fully effective. The Board has already voted to approve the contract, and GREA members ratified it last week, clearing the path for implementation.

The contract covers the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years, providing stability and continued investment in the district's educators over the next two academic years.

District Recruitment

The agreement comes at a time when many school districts are struggling to recruit and retain quality educators. The increased compensation and expanded benefits are designed to address these challenges and position GRPS as an attractive employer for talented educators in West Michigan.

For those interested in joining GRPS, applications are available at grps.org/careers.