Uncontracted for the first time since 1994, AAPS teachers are now “working to rule,” effectively only doing what is specifically articulated in the expired contract.
Any work that happens outside of contracted school hours—including responding to parent emails and calls, lesson planning, grading student work, and writing report cards after hours—is uncontracted. Working during lunch (including tutoring and letting students eat in their classrooms), writing classroom newsletters, and having classroom pets are also uncontracted. Same goes for attending open houses, orientations, art shows, concerts, field days, and kindergarten round-ups.
“It felt awful,” emails Burns Park Elementary kindergarten teacher Mary Roderique, of missing the round-up. “We were sad not to participate and missed meeting families at the beginning of their journey with kindergarten in specific and with school in general; however, we recognized the importance for us—and all our teachers—to stand together and band together at this time.”
“Strong contracts equate to strong schools that center children,” says English language teacher Melissa Villanueva. “Our contracts protect both staff working environments as well as student learning environments. Work to rule can feel hard on all stakeholders, yet this is an important action that we are taking in order for our community to understand how much of the education system runs on free labor.”
The negotiations occur as the school district navigates the aftereffects of the $25 million budget shortfall that came to light in April 2024 (Over the Cliff, May 2024). Although they’ve made progress, bringing their general fund balance up from a low of 2.2 percent to 7.17 percent at the end of the 2024–25 fiscal year, it will take time before the balance reaches the state average of 22 percent.
Yet long before the budget shortfall, teachers’ salaries were subject to reductions and freezes, and the AAEA reports that annual pay raises have not kept up with inflation. Rising health insurance rates in 2024 and 2025 cut further into teachers’ take-home pay. (Learning in Limbo, February 2026).
Although the AAPS and AAEA signed an agreement last January promising to align teachers’ salaries with comparable Michigan school districts, so far the negotiations have been fruitless. In a February 11 letter to its members, the AAEA bargaining team reported that AAEA and the AAPS were unable to reach a tentative agreement during a bargaining meeting earlier that day.
“Because no Tentative Agreement was reached, the district has demanded that we move to mediation,” the letter reads. “The bargaining will continue with a Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) assigned mediator for the next step.”
District administration did not respond to requests for comment. But at the February 4 Board of Education meeting, superintendent Jazz Parks expressed a commitment to balancing fair teacher compensation with a healthy budget.
“We’ve said it in several communications,” she said. “We’ve said it here many times at the table, that we too want to provide our teachers and our staff with competitive wages. That is our commitment. We continue to bargain with our employees in good faith while also looking for the long-term stabilization of the district and the difficult decisions that have to be made in order to get us there.”
Several community members spoke during public commentary, including AAPS students.
“I came into a school feeling shy, but all of my teachers were very welcoming,” said Allen Elementary student Wesley. “My teachers have made my life much better. Teachers deserve a contract and more money so they don’t feel stressed about their bills. Please help my teachers have an easier time living in our community.”