AAPS laid off 55 teachers then brought 48 of them back

Months after Ann Arbor Public Schools laid off 55 teachers, 48 have now been recalled. The layoffs were in response to a $25 million budget shortfall, which arose from increased staffing and operating costs amid declining student enrollment. 

AAPS approved a plan in May to save $20.4 million by reducing staff size, music programs and special classes at the elementary level. Then, APPS brought back 48 teachers after current teachers retired or resigned.

In an email to The Michigan Daily, Ronald Robinson, science teacher at Pioneer High School, said the handling of the budget crisis highlighted long term tensions between the teachers and the school board.

“For many of my 33 years there has been an US vs Them sentiment,” Robinson wrote. “What really hurts is to have good, fresh new staff leave the district.”  

AAPS proposed an agreement between the district and the Ann Arbor Education Association Education in June, which offered teachers who voluntarily left the district financial compensation only if a minimum of 75 staff volunteered to leave. If the number was not met, however, those who volunteered to leave were still obligated to do so without compensation. 

Education Freshman Nora Zain, Skyline High School alum, told The Michigan Daily she was disappointed in AAPS’s efforts to encourage staff to retire, but glad many of them were later rehired.

“I thought that was kind of crazy that they would do that,” Zain said. “But I’m happy that the teachers that did end up getting let go of had the winnings, and (AAPS) didn’t just hire new teachers and decided to (re)fill the spaces with teachers that they did let go of.”  

Staff members are also frustrated with their salaries and benefits, according to Robinson. 

“New staff over the last couple of years were held at a pay level and did not move up,” Robinson wrote. “New teachers do not get health care in retirement and their retirement is a 401k. In my department alone 4 out of 11 left the district.”  

Zain recalled the reaction of the Skyline student body upon the first announcement of the budget shortfall, and later when teachers were notified if they were to be let go for the next year. 

“When it was first announced it was a pretty big topic, and definitely the butt of jokes,” Zain said. “Most of the teachers kept very quiet about whether or not they were still around. They didn’t know each other’s statuses either.”

In an email to The Daily, Andrew Cluley, communications director of the AAPS District Leadership Team, wrote that the Board does not have any information to add beyond what was shared at their Aug. 28 meeting.

In an email to The Daily, LSA freshman Elizabeth Thompson, Huron High School alum, wrote that she found it upsetting to see budget cuts affecting staff. 

“I know one of the younger teachers who (was) let go because she lacked seniority,” Thompson said. “Seeing her life negatively affected by the debt made me very angry. Losing such amazing staff will inevitably negatively affect the entire district. Ann Arbor students are being forced to watch the downfall of their public education system.”

Diego Hurtado-Cardenas, junior at Skyline High School, said it seems the impacts of the layoffs were unequally distributed among Ann Arbor public schools. 

“Stuff got switched around but overall everyone is still getting what they used to get, like class-wise and club-wise,” Hurtado said. “In other schools, it was definitely a bigger hit. I have a younger sister … in Clague Middle School and she was telling us about how there’s a few clubs that have just completely stopped existing because there are no teachers that have taken the role of club manager.”

Due to the budget shortfall and layoffs, AAPS teachers were transferred between schools, often involuntarily. Hurtado said one of his teachers works at two different high schools within a single work day.

“In the morning he’s at Skyline and then for the last two hours he goes to Community (High School),” Hurtado said. “So he doesn’t manage LSU, which is the Latin Student Union (anymore).”  

As both an AAPS alum and family member to teachers in the district, Thompson wrote that she has concerns about how teachers were let go.

“As an alum, I am scared for the future of AAPS,” Thompson said. “I come from a family full of teachers and have a good grasp on what they’ve been going through since the pandemic. … As a student, I’d be concerned about my teachers and their job stability. Students care about their teachers and will not stand to see them treated this way.” Daily Staff Reporter Grace Lee can be reached at graceyl@umich.edu.

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