Board Statement Regarding Ongoing Teacher Negotiations with the CLEA In light of some recent social media posts and messaging by the Croswell-Lexington Education Association (CLEA) and its members, we want to provide you an update on negotiations for a new teachers’ labor agreement and correct some inaccurate statements.
There have been reports that the District has not offered teacher salary increases. That is not accurate. Under the contract proposal made by the District on June 24, 2025, every teacher eligible to receive a step increase would in fact move a step, and teachers on the top step would receive a $2,000 off-schedule cash payment. Under this proposal, teachers would receive a salary increase ranging from 2.3% (those at the top step), to 5.5% (most of the teachers on steps). The average teacher salary percentage increase would be 3.8%. This compares with a 3% salary increase received by District administrators and almost all other District employees for the 2025-26 school year.
Moreover, the District’s proposal to increase teacher salaries by an average of 3.8% in 2025-26 comes after teachers received the following average salary increases in the past three years:
2022-23: 7.3% increase
2023-24: 4.7% increase
2024-25: 7.0% increase
2025-26: 3.8% average salary increase proposed by District
The District recently adopted its budget for the 2025-26 school year. Under that budget, the District’s General Fund Balance is projected to be reduced from 15.4% to 12.15%, not including the cost of the $2,000 off-schedule cash payment proposed to be paid to teachers at the top step. The Michigan School Business Officials’ (MSBO) recommendation, shared by the District’s auditors, is that the District should strive to maintain a General Fund Balance of at least 15%. In their fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards of the funds provided by community taxpayers, the Board cannot in good conscience put the District at any greater financial risk, especially in these uncertain times.
That being said, within the parameters of our financial resources, we remain committed to
● Valuing the contributions of all of our teaching staff;
● Ensuring a supportive environment which will help our District attract, retain, and support great educators; and
● Assuring the District is well-positioned for long-term, sustainable academic and financial health.
Balancing and meeting these goals is a formidable challenge given all the competing interests and needs of our community. The teachers’ union recently requested the engagement of the State of Michigan’s labor mediation services to help facilitate our meetings aimed at reaching an agreement. We will continue working in good faith with the mediator and CLEA to reach a new labor agreement.
We hope this is helpful. We will keep you informed in the coming weeks as appropriate. We thank you for your patience, and your partnership with the Board, administration and District staff members in working to provide the best educational opportunities that we can for our students.
Board of Education
Croswell-Lexington Community Schools
July 29, 2025