Dearest reader,
The teachers of Kalamazoo Public Schools are asking their community to stand with them.
And Lady B went looking through the ledger. 🪶
For the THIRD YEAR IN A ROW, Kalamazoo teachers have started the school year without a contract.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Three years.
Meanwhile, KPS administrators entered this school year with their contract already approved.
So Lady B took a look at the other side of the ledger.
📌 KPS's own 2025 compensation report contains 61 administrative and leadership employees on the report.
📌 Their combined reported compensation was approximately $13.68 MILLION.
📌 Superintendent Darrin Slade's base salary alone was $272,640.55.
📌 With other reported compensation and employer-paid benefits included, his total reported compensation was approximately $416,974.
Now, Lady B is not suggesting administrators shouldn't be fairly compensated.
That isn't the point.
The point is priorities.
Teachers are the people standing in front of our children every single day.
They teach them.
They encourage them.
They manage classrooms.
They answer parent emails.
They stay late.
They take work home.
And for the THIRD YEAR IN A ROW, Kalamazoo's teachers began the school year without a contract.
Administrators did not.
That seems like a question worth asking:
Why does Kalamazoo Public Schools keep reaching the beginning of the school year without having a contract in place for the people standing in front of its students every day?
Kalamazoo teachers are asking their community to show up.
📍 KPS BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
📅 Thursday, October 8
⏰ 7:00 PM
📍 KPS Administration Building
1220 Howard Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
If you are a KPS parent, taxpayer, educator, employee, or simply someone who believes the people in our classrooms deserve to be heard, perhaps Thursday night is a good night to listen.
Teachers are asking for support.
Lady B is happy to help make sure people know about it. 🪶
With receipts and respect.
#LadyBudgetdown #KalamazooPublicSchools #KPS #KalamazooTeachers #SupportTeachers #SupportEducators #TeachersDeserveAContract #PublicEducation #MichiganSchools #Kalamazoo #WithReceiptsAndRespect