Union Shows up For Feb. 26 School Board Meeting
A sea of green shirts representing the union East Lansing School District administrative assistants are members of were present at the Feb. 26 East Lansing Board of Education meeting.
The two hour meeting featured a public comment session full of administrative professionals speaking about collective bargaining efforts and perceived favoritism towards a recently hired benefits coordinator who is the son of a high ranking school district employee.
Most of public comment consisted of representatives of the local and Michigan chapters of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) unions. Nora Grambau is a regional representative and spoke in support of the local chapter’s negotiation efforts.

“They’re the front line of your school, your district, your buildings,” she said of the administrative assistants in the union. “When people come into the room, this is who they see. When people have questions, this is who they come to. These are your faces. These are your warriors. They’re my warriors.
“I’m not here to negotiate with you,” Grambau continued. “We do that in session. But what I am here to say is that in spite of what you may have heard, this group is not here saying, ‘give me more money, more money, more money.’ This group is here because we’ve identified there is a disparity, that there is an inequity and an issue of fairness with the wage scale. And we’re addressing that. You have individuals here who have been with the district many, many years, and it is insulting to them and those that come after us to have an individual be hired into the district 12 people ahead of them.”
The individual Grambau referenced is Elisha Glover. Glover was hired in 2023 as the benefits coordinator for the district, replacing Monique Clifford who served as fringe benefits coordinator and had resigned earlier that year.
Glover is the son of Rulesha Glover-Payne, Chief Human Resources Officer and Title IX Coordinator for the district. When asked for comment about a possible conflict of interest, Superintendent Dori Leyko told ELi that Glover-Payne was not involved in the hiring of Glover and is not his supervisor.
Public school employees are paid using a “step” scale. Steps are determined by years of service, and sometimes employers offer additional steps to incentivize recruits to take a job. In a post to its website, AFSCME clarified the district and union were (and still are) between contracts when Glover was hired. The previous contract designated a newly hired benefits coordinator to be placed somewhere along steps one to four. Glover was hired at step 12, according to speakers at the meeting.

Coni Ward, an AFSCME member and administrative assistant at White Hills Elementary, spoke at length about the perceived inequity in Glover’s pay and that of other union members.
“Our administration chose to pay the individual with a starting pay aligned with step 12,” Ward said. “In doing so, the pay leapfrogged past 12 individuals who have been with this district between one and 12 years, myself included. I now make less than this person after serving this district for over nine years.
“Negotiations started for our new contract in the fall. They ceased a few weeks ago; wage scale, longevity pay, and unused sick time payout are the reasons for that halt,” she continued. “During negotiations when the benefits coordinator situation was alluded to…we were asked, ‘is that really how you want to treat a colleague?’
“The real question should be for our administrators who made the decision on this pay, is this how you want to treat us? Why is this one position worth more than the rest? What is this one person bringing to the table that none of us have brought or continue to bring? How is this position more important than any of ours? The insult I felt learning of this situation is pretty profound. I am certain not one of those who made this unfair decision considered the impact it would have on 12 people they decided to fly past in deciding this one person is more than the rest of us. What it said to me is that my job is worth less, means less, and is far less valuable than the benefits coordinator; what I do all day is somehow less important than what they do all day.
“The singular job of the vast majority of the employees in this district is first and foremost to teach and take care of the children and their families. I take care of the children and their families. I dry children’s tears, stop blood, cradle them on the floor in my lap during a seizure because they had a high fever, tell them it’s okay when they throw up on my keyboard, tell them it’s lots of kids who wet their pants [and] it’s no big deal. I hold hands, give hugs, remind them of their worth, reward them for their good choices, let them know when they make bad ones, let them know that they’re not bad kids, they just made a bad choice. I laugh with them. I let them think when they whisper, ‘turn green’ to our swipepad and it turns green that they just made magic happen. For my parents, I answer every question they ask; about enrollment, school procedures, how lunch works, what events are happening. When they come in with strong feelings about a situation with their child and I’m the only one, I let them talk. I let them know they are heard. I make sure, despite how upset and angry they are, they feel welcomed and belong in our space. I hug them when they share they’re having a bad parent day and let them know that every parent feels that way at some time or another. I build relationships and continue to build a bigger, more inclusive White Hills community.”
While union contract negotiations are typically private, Ward continued, giving some detail about what might be discussed behind closed doors.
“In negotiations, we were asked on what we were basing our wage proposal and if we are getting figures on comparable rates of pay in surrounding districts,” she said. “Our wage proposal was determined by what our administrators did when they hired someone at a rate of pay way outside the established steps of our group. Our proposal made that starting pay the high end of our hiring steps one through four. The rest of the scale was determined based on that figure. Thus, our administrators determined what this district could afford to pay the employees in our group. Why should any of us have to determine the going rate? You did it for us.
“At our negotiations, we are constantly gladhanded with comments like, ‘we value all of you so much,’ ‘we know you are the glue that holds our schools together.’ From them, these words are empty. They mean nothing. If I had a nickel for every one of these empty comments, I would still not be making as much as our benefits coordinator.”

After Ward and other union members spoke, Adam Orange, a German language teacher in the district, took to the podium on behalf of the East Lansing Education Association to offer the group’s support to the AFSCME members.
ELi has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the district, hoping to learn more about the hiring process of Glover and what may have caused those hiring him to place him on an advanced step.
School bond proposal challenged during public comment.
During her superintendent’s report Leyko highlighted, among other things, the district’s plan to inform the community about the May 7 bond proposal to raise $23.5 million for security and accessibility improvements at the high school and middle school.
“Informational materials are being finalized and printed this week,” she said. “We will also have a website page dedicated to the bond proposal. Our communication plan includes a postcard mailing districtwide, a trifold brochure, a presentation for an upcoming board meeting and community forums, an FAQ document and social media content.”
The first speaker during public comment challenged the district on the need for the bond proposal.
“I would really like the administration to adjust this ask of the East Lansing taxpayers,” Kristin Good said. “I’m very much in favor of increased security for the schools, everyone I talk to is.
“My focus for tonight is on the construction of a brand new building for administration. A really good point was made at [the East Lansing] Planning Commission recently which is the most environmentally sound building is the one that already exists. Also, look at history. When administration was moved off-site away from the high school previously it was not successful in the long term. And the property that was purchased was sold as a loss of $581,000. I don’t know what the operating costs were for that building over the 11 years it was open, but please, I really encourage you to speak to longtime staff members who recall that.”
Good recommended that the district look into leasing off-campus office space, the third floor of the Hannah Community Center or Red Cedar Elementary.
The board will next meet on Monday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. in the meeting room on the ground floor of the high school.
UPDATE March 11: This story was updated to clarify “administrative assistants” were represented by the union, not “administrators.”