Teachers union reaches an agreement in the Chelsea School District

The Chelsea School District (CSD) and teachers union has reached a new agreement for the 2022-2023 school year.

A collective bargaining agreement between the CSD and Chelsea Education Association (CEA) for the 2022-2023 year was officially approved at the Sept. 12 board of education meeting.

The CEA ratified the contract prior to the board meeting.

The Sun Times News reached out to school board president Jason Eyster and CSD Superintendent Michael Kapolka after the meeting.

Eyster said on behalf of the school board, that they “are grateful to the CEA, its membership and the CDS administration for their continued ability to work together to jointly devise a contract that reflects the teachers' needs and interests, while acknowledging the existing constraints and future uncertainties of school funding.”

When asked about the highlights of the contract, Kapolka said, "A bargaining goal for both the CSD and CEA was to strengthen our salary schedule and overall compensation package for our teachers so that we can remain a viable destination for future teachers while retaining the quality staff members currently in place. I believe this agreement met that goal."

"Both the Chelsea School District and Chelsea Education Association collaboratively worked towards a bargaining agreement that would continue to retain our current staff, attract future instructional staff members, while maintaining fiscal responsibility for the district,” said Kapolka.

During the collective bargaining process, which started last spring and continued into this academic school year, the Chelsea School District and the Chelsea Education Association functioned under the 2021-2022 collective bargaining agreement.