Kalamazoo Public Schools approves 2.5% pay increase for teachers

KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Public Schools Board of Education has approved a 2.5% raise for teachers for this 2024-25 school year.

The agreement was approved at a KPS board meeting last month.

"Shout out to all of our teachers who have been working long and hard in addition to contract negotiations," KPS Trustee Juanita Yvonne Payton said.

The raise isn't as high as the union bargained for, said Heather Reid, president of the Kalamazoo Education Association. But Reid said they're glad to have an agreement and move forward.

"We always want to make sure that we maximize the amount that we give to our teachers, so that we can be competitive in the in the area," Reid said.

Last year, the union agreed to a 6.5% pay increase for the 2023-24 school year.

This year's 2.5% increase equates to a $1,116.30 bump for teachers with a bachelor's degree at the lowest pay level. Teacher pay will now start at $45,768.30. Teachers can also get pay increases by moving up on the pay scale.

The 2024-25 contract hasn't yet been edited and finalized, a representative for KPS said.

KPS Trustee Patti Sholler-Barber said she believes the contract negotiations went smoothly this year.

"To have it done this quickly at the beginning of the year is joyful for everyone," Sholler-Barber said.

Reid said the union's ultimate goal is making Kalamazoo Public Schools an attractive place to work.

"We want our district to be the place that teachers are lining up in order to teach," Reid said. "I won't rest until that is achieved."

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