Ann Arbor teachers are driving Uber Eats and doing medical experiments to afford to live in the city where they teach our children. That should not be happening in one of the most educated cities in America.

Ann Arbor's teachers have gone 120+ days without a contract. They are still showing up for our kids every single day. It is time for the district to show up for them.

We parents, students, community members, and supporters of Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS), root for the AAPS Board of Education and district leadership to reach a fair and just contract with the Ann Arbor Education Association without further delay.

AAPS offers the lowest starting salary among comparable neighboring districts, despite receiving one of the highest per-pupil funding allocations in the region. Teachers are absorbing an outsized share of skyrocketing healthcare costs. Many are working second and third jobs just to afford to live in the city where they teach and love. The district is losing talented, experienced educators to neighboring districts that simply pay more.

The chart below tells the story at a glance. In 2025, Ann Arbor was at the bottom across every salary category despite having more resources per student than almost every district shown. 

Source: Black, Brooke. "Learning in Limbo." Ann Arbor Observer, 27 Jan. 2026, annarborobserver.com/learning-in-limbo

The Case for Acting Now
The Numbers

• AAPS receives $11,051 per pupil, 2nd highest among comparable districts, yet pays the lowest starting salary of all of them
• Plymouth-Canton gets $1,000 less per child and still pays teachers $3,370 more per year
• Novi pays teachers $10,000+ more per year with lower per-pupil funding
• AAPS offers the lowest longevity pay of all comparable districts, just $2,500/year for teachers with 17+ years of service
• The district's proposed contract offered a 1.5% raise. Inflation, healthcare costs, and Ann Arbor's cost of living have far outpaced that
• Health insurance costs rose 25% in 2024 and 18% in 2025 with teachers absorbing 40% of the bill
• 99.6% of teachers rejected the district's contract offer. Only 4 out of 1,088 voted yes
• Teachers have worked without a contract for 120+ days, the first time since 1994

The People Who Our Children Count On

• AAPS teachers driving Uber Eats, doing medical experiments, tutoring, babysitting, and dog-sitting just to make ends meet
• "The biggest raise I've had in 36 years was 2.5% - in 2006," AAEA president Fred Klein
• One teacher's health insurance increase alone equals three mortgage payments per year
• Experienced teachers are leaving for neighboring districts that offer better pay and benefits, and they are not coming back
• Students cannot get help after school, emails go unanswered, grading is delayed, all direct fallout from working to rule
• 1,200+ community members have already signed an open letter demanding action from the Board

The Bottom Line

• AAPS receives the 2nd highest per-pupil funding in the region, but has the lowest starting salary for a teacher with a BA
• The district's financial reserve has recovered from a low of 2.2% to 7.17%, which is above the state-required 5% floor
• Is this a funding problem or a priorities problem?
• Every day without a fair contract is another day a good teacher considers leaving for Novi, Plymouth, or Northville

Call to Action
Ann Arbor prides itself on being a city that values education. That value must show up in how we care for the people who show up for our children every single day.

As members of this community, we call on AAPS leadership to:

• Recognize that closing a decades-long compensation gap requires more than a modest raise
• Offer a salary schedule that is competitive with comparable Michigan school districts
• Move toward the state-maximum 80/20 healthcare cost share for teachers
• Prioritize teacher retention as a core part of the district's long-term financial health

Make your voice heard. Please sign this petition and share it with your AAPS family, neighbors, and friends. Our teachers have given Ann Arbor everything. It's time for us to give back to our teachers.