A new contract for Chelsea schools and teachers union

The Chelsea School District has new three-year agreement with its teachers union.

At its June 12 meeting, the CSD Board of Education approved a contract for the years 2023-2026. The contract has been approved by the Washtenaw County Education Association and the Chelsea Education Association (CEA) executive board and membership.

It was approved unanimously by all parties.

At the school board meeting, CSD Superintendent Michael Kapolka said the negotiation process started in November and it was a productive one. Kapolka thanked everyone involved with the negotiations.

The Sun Times News reached out to Kapolka and CEA President Adam Schilt, who is a teacher at Chelsea High School.

"The contractual agreement that the district reached with the Chelsea Education Association spans the next three academic years and focuses on our combined efforts to focus on recruitment and retention options for our instructional staff members,” Kapolka said.

The contract was ratified by the CEA on June 1.

“This is the first time in several years that both parties have been able to negotiate a multi-year contract, which was one of the main goals of both parties at the onset of the collective bargaining process,” said Kapolka.

Schilt said, “The three-year contract between Chelsea educators and the district was delivered through the hard work of negotiators on both sides.”

“We began preparing for negotiations back in November, and both sides agreed that it would be beneficial to begin the process by creating norms and sharing goals and priorities,” said Schilt. “I am proud that we were able to get a long-term deal done by the end of the school year, and the CEA is grateful to Mr. Kapolka and the district team for coming to the table eager to negotiate in good faith, listen to our concerns, and offer a financial package that values the work of our hardworking educators.”

According to Schilt, the contract “features modest wage increases for each of the next three years, along with some other creative ways to compensate educators for their time and efforts, such as new language on how the district will handle class size overages. The calendar affords some additional time for teachers to collaborate on planning, assessment, and curriculum development, which is hard to come by during a typical school day.”