By James Windell
The South Haven School Board unanimously approved the salary agreement for teachers at the regular School Board meeting on January 21, 2026.
The teacher’s union had already ratified the agreement on January 13, 2026 after the School District and the teachers came to an agreement on January 8, 2026.
According to the South Haven Public School’s Finance Administrator, Nancy Nelson, all teachers will advance a salary step based on their years of public school teaching experience.
“The increases are being covered by grants and funds,” Nelson told the School Board. “Mostly they will be covered by At Risk grant money that is aimed at teacher retention. We also have another grant, the 27-L Educator Compensation which is a one-time grant for this year.”
Section 27l (“27‑L”) Educator Compensation in Michigan is a state‑funded program that gives school districts extra money – roughly $44 to $50 per pupil – to increase educator pay. It is one‑time funding distributed through the State School Aid Act and can be used flexibly for salaries, bonuses, or other compensation enhancements.
During the meeting, South Haven School Superintendent Ana Aleman-Putman said that negotiations proved to be a “good collaboration” with the teachers. “Teaching is like no other job because it takes so much from you,” she said. “Then you have to give more when you go home and sometimes you don’t much to give. So, we try to honor that; Nancy and I went back and forth with them and we came up with a good solution.”
Nelson said she agreed with the Superintendent. “I thought it was a good conversation and I appreciate the patience because we had to wait for a budget, and then we had to go from there.”
School Board Member Doug Ransom, who is Treasurer for the Board and also Chair of the Finance & Facilities Committee, said it was expedient to get an agreement approved. However, he acknowledged that these are challenging times.
“There are a lot of uncertainties moving forward,” Ransom said, “because anything related to the federal government makes it a real challenging time. So, we have challenges that we have to keep an eye on. My position is that we have to be very diligent about the budget and we have to make sure that we are reactive if there is bad news. However, I feel confident that Nancy and I have the ability to work that out if there are challenges.”
Ransom added he was excited about the agreement because “I think it addresses an area that was a major concern.”
Aleman-Putman reminded the Board that they were in the third year of a three-year contract with the teachers and new negotiations would begin again later this year.
