At approximately 7:22 p.m., on Mar. 11 2026, members of the Board of Education for Ann Arbor Public Schools began to enter the meeting room of the Earhart Building. At 7:26, the meeting officially began.
At 7:32 p.m., public commentary began with 11 people signed up, each with only four minutes to speak. It opened with a self-composed rap by Michelle Ding, who represented the Burns Park Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) in support of AAPS teachers and staff. Lyrics from the song included “S-I-G-N A-A-P-S" and prompted a brief chant in the meeting room by others in support of AAPS staff.
While most public commentary focused on the ongoing issue of teacher contracts, a select few spoke about other matters.
Ann Arbor Huron High School student Elijah Morrow was second on the list for public commentary. He advocated for later school start times, mentioning how he has been contacting the board since September. Morrow claimed that the majority of the dozens of emails he had sent to the Board of Education were either brushed off or ignored. He continued to explain that when he received a reply, the response told him it wasn’t the right time, nor was it a priority for the board.
“I need you all to understand that it is never the right time to make a change,” Morrow said. “Throughout history, changes have been made when something is wrong, whether it's the right time or not. It is very clear this is a problem.”
He compared Michigan with other states, noting that pushing later school start times is pending legislation in 26 states and that California has already mandated them. He challenged the board: whether they would be remembered as those who made changes for the better or as the ones who pushed it off, saying it wasn’t the right time.
Others also supported the notion. AAPS parent, director of the Eisenberg Family Depression Center, and the Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg Professor of Depression and Neurosciences, Srijan Sen, was one of them.
Sen stated that at the University of Michigan, one of the populations with which they work closely is training physicians. While working with them, they noticed that the rate of depression and anxiety in students decreased by 20-30% in the past 20 years — a result of reducing work hours and increasing sleep.
“From my perspective, the strongest lever that is equivalent to that prevention for our high school students is wake-up time and school start time,” Sen said. “The need for sleep is often greater for people between 15 and 19, and that corresponds exactly to the early times we have.”
While many speakers came with the same goal in mind, many approached the board in different ways. While Sen came from an academic background, others took the family or biology course.
Per Bergman, a junior at Pioneer, came before the board and talked about the struggle to time manage while needing to take care of younger siblings and drive them to school. Louise M O’Brien, a research professor of neurology, obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Michigan, talked about the need for sleep for athletes and the proven link between students who get lots of sleep and students with strong grades.
“The first step towards change is awareness,” O’Brien said. “You're asking students to wake up and function at a time when their brains are telling them loudly and clearly to be asleep. Given all that we know now of adolescent sleep, biology and health, to do nothing is to do harm.”
Although many spoke of pushing back school start times, the majority of the public speakers discussed the ongoing issues with AAPS teacher contracts.
Among them, Huron juniors Lakshya Jaiganesh and Kayla Fu spoke at 7:54 p.m. They spoke of their time with Sara Badalamente, Huron’s newspaper advisor, and her dedication as an AAPS teacher to the district, her school and her students. They continued with the position of the board members themselves and the power they have over the AAPS staff.
“There is no other solution, no other compromise, than giving teachers what they have endlessly asked for,” Jaiganesh said. “Of frustration long ignored in the name of years.”
Fu then proceeded to continue with, “Today, you contradict your positions and betray the promise you made when taking the position you have,”
The last two public speakers, including Pioneer senior Tova Weiss, read letters to the Board of Education written by students across the district.. They urged the board to give their teachers a fair and paying contract.
At 8:10 p.m., public commentary concluded, and the Superintendent of Ann Arbor Public Schools, Jazz Parks, followed up with her own clarification.
“Until a new contract is reached, our educators and staff remain covered under the terms of the most recent contract status quo,” Parks said. “And that collective bargaining agreement does include provisions for compensation for after-school events, like clubs, should teachers choose to continue those.”
After Parks’ declaration of agenda piece number five, community feedback started.
For the next 24 minutes, Fred Klein, the President of the Ann Arbor Education Association, and Claire Arthurs, a teacher assistant at Tappan Middle School, spoke on behalf of the AAEA and the teacher contract issue once more.
As of Mar. 11, AAPS teachers have been working without a contract for 70 days. At the board meeting, parents and students came together to stand up for the staff.
Klein and Arthurs proceeded to compare rates between districts like Northville, Livonia, Plymouth, Dexter, and Chelsea. Veteran master's degree AAPS teachers lose more than 200,000 dollars versus other comparable districts. This is excluding healthcare, which adds up to at least another 100,000 dollars. The Ann Arbor district has also implemented 2 pay step freezes — an action that is now illegal in the state of Michigan.
“So, when you ask for concessions this year, again, the ninth year of complete freezes or cuts in the last 16, the historical record does not support you,” Klein said. “Wage freezes, step freezes, and pay cuts have never produced a stable fund balance under your watch. Educators have repeatedly sacrificed, yet those sacrifices have not resolved the district's financial challenges.”
Klein wrapped up his piece by saying, “We want to be partners, and we will be great partners. But we cannot, in good conscience, be your line of credit any longer.”
At 8:34 p.m., community feedback ended.
The next regular meeting open to the public is Wednesday, March 25. It is expected that the meeting will follow the same format as from March 11, starting with public commentary followed by community feedback.
