Pontiac teachers and paraeducators have delivered a blistering message to district leadership, announcing an overwhelming vote of no confidence in Superintendent Kimberly Leverette and most of the school board. Union leaders say the nearly unanimous mid-February ballot was the product of months of stalled contract talks, staffing gaps and what they describe as increasingly unsafe classroom conditions.
Unions Vote To Strip Leaders Of Confidence
The Pontiac Education Association and the Pontiac Parainstructor Association backed a no-confidence vote targeting Superintendent Leverette and five board members. As reported by The Oakland Press, the unions said the vote passed by 98.7 percent after members returned ballots on Feb. 11. Union leaders told the board the result was not a close call but a mandate for serious corrective action.
Special-Education Concerns Turn Up The Heat
For many educators, tipping-point frustrations are tied to special-education services. Union officials point to recent incidents they say show the district is failing its most vulnerable students, including the relocation of special-needs classes out of a room staff had flagged as unsafe. ClickOnDetroit reported that the district moved students out of the room while it awaited environmental testing, and the district said it contacted the Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate the space.
The Michigan Education Association has chronicled months of organizing and tension in Pontiac, noting that local leaders Candice Ridley and Fred McFadden have been coordinating staff actions as frustrations over safety and support have grown alongside stalled bargaining.
Contract Stalemate And A Formal Complaint
According to union leaders, teachers have been working without a contract since last summer and have staged protests and walkouts as negotiations dragged on. FOX 2 Detroit covered a convocation walkout last August after the contract expired, highlighting early signs of the showdown now playing out in board meetings.
The Pontiac Education Association later filed an unfair-labor-practice charge with the state labor commission, according to The Oakland Press. PEA President Candice Ridley underscored how strongly members feel about the district’s direction, telling reporters that when “98% of your workforce says you failed, that is not a disagreement, that is a verdict.”
Board Meetings, Community Pressure And What Comes Next
Union leaders formally presented the no-confidence results to trustees at a Tuesday meeting and urged the board to pause fast-track reorganization plans until staffing levels and safety issues are addressed. They argue that reshuffling the district without first stabilizing classrooms risks making already fragile conditions worse.
The district’s calendar lists a school-board meeting on March 3, giving trustees and the community another public forum for questions, concerns and some likely pointed comment, according to the Pontiac School District communications page. The Pontiac Education Association, which represents hundreds of district teachers, says it plans to push at upcoming meetings for clear timelines, transparent decision-making and detailed staffing plans.
Legal Angle
The union’s unfair-labor-practice complaint was filed with the Michigan Public Employment Relations Commission, the state agency that handles disputes between public employers and employee groups. According to the commission’s public materials, MERC investigates such filings and can hold hearings in cases that move forward, a process that often stretches over months and focuses on whether an employer unlawfully refused to bargain or engaged in bad-faith practices.
For now, educators say they will keep showing up for students while pressing district leadership for immediate fixes. The superintendent and board still publicly favor resolving the conflict at the bargaining table, but the lopsided no-confidence vote has raised the political temperature and signaled that staff expect faster action and clearer accountability from the people running Pontiac’s schools.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article included a photo of the OLHSA which is not directly related to the incidents.
