141 days. That’s how many days it has been since Birmingham Public Schools (BPS) teachers have had a contract. Contracts between school districts and teachers generally entail teachers’ rights, duties, terms of employment, as well as their salary and class size. In previous years, contract negotiations have been resolved by the beginning of the new school year, ensuring that teachers will have fair salaries, manageable class sizes and all the support that they would need to get through the year. This, however, has not been the case this year. Due to the state budget being delayed for nearly three months, many school districts also had delays in their negotiations. However, Geoffrey Wickersham, the Groves High School teacher’s rep for the teachers’ union and social studies teacher, explained how Birmingham differed in the time it has taken to reach an agreement in relation to surrounding districts, 

“Districts like ours, like Bloomfield, Farmington, I think others were able to get stuff done before the state budget was passed, the state budget’s been passed. Let’s get it done,” Wickersham said.

At the BPS Board meeting on October 21, 2025, many teachers, as well as members of the BPS community, addressed the board about the ongoing contract negotiations. Derby Middle School teacher Kathleen Westerlund shared her experience in the district,

“I stand before you here as a 32-year veteran of Birmingham Public Schools. I did not take the buyout, [I am] a 27-year Beverly Hills resident, and the proud parent of two Groves graduates…I have spent 32 years in this district with my children and we have never not been able to come to an agreement to pay our teachers fairly,” Westerlund said. 

Throughout American history, unions have played a vital role in protecting the working class from employers. Hunter Janness, an economics teacher at Groves High School, gave some insight into the impact unions can have on workplace conditions, specifically in schools.

“For public schools…the union can play an important role in holding the government accountable to creating good conditions in schools, because good conditions for teachers generally reflect through to good conditions for students,” Janness said. 

These ideas were echoed in the speeches given by community members at the board meeting, and we as students can directly see the effects of valuing our teachers. Throughout these negotiations, one Groves math teacher, Eric Springer, who plays an essential role on the teachers’ union’s bargaining team, has had to miss numerous classes for meetings. We took a survey of all of Springer’s AP Statistics students, asking whether they felt that his absence had impacted their classroom experience. Groves senior Ian Whan shared his perspective on the matter, 

“The fact that my stats teacher has to miss multiple days a week to bargain on behalf of the teachers is completely absurd. This is an AP class and I do not feel like I’m getting the preparation I need for the AP test in May, especially because we have no idea how long this is going to last,” Whan said. 

Whan’s opinion is reflected by that of many other students at Groves. Whether it’s missing valuable instruction time or seeing the various acts of protest, including holding signs outside the school, a scheduled walk-in and wearing “BEA United We Stand” t-shirts, Groves students can see the impact that not having a contract is having on the staff. 

However, the union doesn’t just give the teachers a way to band together in times like these; it cultivates a culture among them that makes this district as great as it is. Janness touched on this idea when discussing the community the union cultivates, 

“The Union also creates a culture between all of us of really high standards for the quality of work that we create…and mutual pride in what we do…I feel proud to be part of this teaching community because I know my colleagues are extremely well-qualified and work very hard to do really high-quality work. And that makes me, by extension, want to work extremely hard and produce high-quality work,” Janness said. 

Janness is not the only one who feels this way. Various speeches at the board meeting reflected this same idea. Eric Bruns, a math teacher at Seaholm High School, who teaches AP Calculus BC, shared his experience as a teacher in BPS. He touched on how much higher his AP students’ scores are on the AP exam and the extended amount of time that he works with students outside of contract hours to ensure they get the best education possible. He’s there for his students for more than teaching; he’s a safe space for students who are struggling and may not have anyone else to go to. 

Similarly, a former BPS parent, Sarah Locricchio, shared that her daughter, a 2025 Groves graduate, is currently studying post-secondary education with the hopes of returning to Groves to teach. Experiences like this are fairly common at Groves; there are numerous teachers, such as newly hired social studies teachers Nolan Kamoo and Henry Vanfaussien, physical education teacher Kristen Petrovich, science teacher Laura Searle and even former Groves principal Dr. Susan Smith, all of whom graduated from Groves and chose to come back to teach in this community. This truly speaks to the quality and standard of education in this district, all of which can be accredited to the teachers. 

As students, our experience in BPS would be nowhere near the same if it weren’t for the incredible teachers we have here. Having attended other school districts, we have noticed the difference that adequate funding and pay can make for teachers, and in turn, students. When teachers are paid fairly, it gives them the proper means to support their students to the best of their abilities. In the past 141 days that Birmingham teachers have been without a contract, teachers have continued to go above and beyond for their students, providing not only a great education, but opportunities outside of the classroom as well—surpassing the contract hours they currently don’t have. 

BPS is a top-ranked district in the state of Michigan for education— a fact that the district is very proud of and chooses to promote. However, it is completely asinine to boast this fact without recognizing the people who made that possible. Teachers are the foundation of everything that is bold, brilliant and so proudly Birmingham about BPS— valuing teachers is, in turn, valuing BPS students.

 *At the time of this article’s publication, the teachers’ union and school board have not yet reached a contract agreement. 

**BPS School Board President Jennifer Rass did not respond for comment before this story went to press.