One of the major challenges facing public education in Michigan, and all over the country, is the recruitment and retainment of employees. The labor market is historically tight and thus labor costs have increased exponentially. 

Perhaps no industry has experienced this challenge more than public education. 

In Lapeer, we are uniquely positioned at the crossroads between rural Michigan and Metro Detroit, and thus have to compete with much larger school districts in areas where the average salaries can be significantly higher. This, among other factors, have contributed to the constant battle to keep our schools at full staff.

Fortunately, the LCS Board of Education has made employee compensation a major priority.  

On Wednesday evening, the Board approved contracts with the Lapeer Education Association (LEA), the union representing the District’s teachers, and the Lapeer Transportation Association (LTA), representing bus drivers. Both agreements take major strides toward compensating our staff at a level they deserve. 

“Our desire is now and always has been to compensate our employees at a level that is competitive with school districts in our region,” said LCS Board of Education President Summer Putnam. “To the degree that we can do that, in a fiscally responsible way, we are committed to doing it.”

The agreements achieve significant wage increases that will allow the District a greater ability to attract and retain talent to serve the needs of our school community.

Moving forward, we are confident that this commitment will be reflected in the agreements with the employee groups that have not yet settled. 

For more information, contact Jared Field, LCS Director of Communications, at Jared.Field@Lapeerschools.org.