**UPDATED JUNE 16th**

We want to start with deep appreciation: Over 400 of you signed the petition in just one week — thank you!

Each signature represents more than support — it’s a call for transparency, accountability, and a school district that truly centers students. Your voices are powerful, and they’ve made it clear: business as usual is not acceptable.

Many of you have shared personal stories that echo the findings in the Eureka Group Report. We are hearing loud and clear that there is growing concern about how district leadership is managing money and power.

Here’s what is new that has been reported to us:

• Executive pay raises while investigations were ongoing — and while staff were told there’s no money for raises
  

• The use of Additional Work Forms to pay fellow executives beyond their salaries, with no public oversight
  

• Payouts and NDAs with exiting staff — what feels like hush money instead of accountability
  

• A pattern of leadership issues not showing up in evaluations, making it hard to trust that anything is changing

While more information is being uncovered through FOIA requests, we cannot afford to wait for vague decisions made behind closed doors.

Our classrooms are under-resourced, buildings are falling apart, and educators are still being asked to do more with less.

We’re calling on the Board of Education to:

No more rubber-stamping executive contracts

The Board has not had adequate time to fully review recent community concerns, questionable financial practices, or the findings from ongoing FOIA requests. Additionally, full and transparent access to evaluation data and past patterns of behavior must be part of the oversight process — not as micromanagement, but as a responsible governance function grounded in the Board’s fiduciary and ethical duty to the public. The Board must begin putting out the fires.

Rushing to approve executive contracts under these circumstances would be premature, irresponsible, and a breach of public trust. It would amount to putting a rubber stamp on contracts without the necessary review, and at the expense of addressing real classroom needs.

Reject any budget that doesn't center students and classrooms

We need a new vision for budgeting — one that puts student success, classroom resources, and school safety above administrative convenience. No more budgets passed without:

• Real oversight and transparency
  

• Community-driven solutions
  

• A path to:
  

  • Fair compensation for all
    

  • Safe, well-maintained school buildings
    

  • Fully staffed classrooms with qualified, caring adults

******* Original Petition Below *******

Our students deserve a school system that listens, responds, and invests in their success.

We are calling for no more rubber-stamped GRPS budgets until there’s a clear, transparent, and community-informed plan to address the real crisis in our schools.

This petition is led by concerned students, families, and community members — grounded in our shared belief that every student in Grand Rapids Public Schools deserves to learn in a safe, fully staffed, and well-resourced school.

But right now, that’s not our reality.

We see the impact every day:

• Unsafe or crumbling buildings, poor air quality, and electrical issues

• Poor two way communication and responsiveness to concerns

• Leadership decisions made behind closed doors

• Budgets that don’t reflect the priorities of students, families, or those working directly with our kids

• Classrooms without permanent educators and understaffed support teams

An entire report was created to help the district understand these issues, identified how we can start to fix this crisis. Since 2023, the board has failed to hold district leadership accountable for action on this report.

Instead past board members have rubber-stamped budgets designed to maintain the broken status quo.

Sign this petition if you believe our students deserve a future built with them and all of the GRPS village.

We call upon the GRPS Board to:

• Listen to your community.

• Respond to what we’ve already told you.

• Invest in students and the people directly working with them — not just structures.

Wondering how will this be shared?

**UPDATE: BECAUSE WE ARE HEARING THAT STAFF FEAR RETALIATION, WE WILL NOT BE SHARING NAMES OR EMAILS WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WHEN WE DELIVER THE PETITION. INSTEAD WE WILL SHARE GENERAL NUMBERS OF HOW MANY PARENTS, STUDENTS, STAFF, ETC SIGNED IN SUPPORT. IT IS REALLY SAD THAT PEOPLE HAVE THIS FEAR, BUT ALSO SPEAKS TO WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO PUSH FOR CHANGE NOW. WE CAN'T RE-IMAGINE WHEN THERE IS A CULTURE OF FEAR AND A PERSISTENT DISMISSAL OF CONCERNS.

We are collecting signatures to deliver to the Board of Education directly at board meetings in June. We will share email addresses with them so you can be included in any follow up response. We are collecting generalized information on who signed (students, parents, staff, etc...). After you sign you are encouraged to share any additional comments or experiences that we will share in public comment to illustrate our desire for transformation of GRPS.