Detroit schools sue to try to stop teacher absences

In a release sent Wednesday evening, activist Heather Miller from the group said that in a phone conference, Detroit Public Schools teachers agreed to another sick out.

More Detroit schools shut down Wednesday as teachers stage “sick-outs” to protest what they say are awful conditions in their schools.

“Closing schools for reasons such as today and on previous dates further jeopardizes the limited resources the District has available to educate its students and address the many challenges it faces”, she said. Needed extra state funding for schools “becomes more hard with each sick-out that happens”, said DPS spokeswoman Michelle Zdrodowski.

The teachers rallied Wednesday at the Detroit auto show, where President Obama appeared to highlight the turnaround in the city’s auto industry.

Disgruntled Detroit educators have stepped up efforts to protest Gov. Rick Snyder’s plans for the district, its ramshackle finances, dilapidated buildings, overcrowded classrooms and their low pay.

Many schools have been closed since Monday.

Many of those who chanted and carried signs were Detroit Public Schools teachers who were taking part in a massive sick-out Wednesday that closed the majority of the district’s schools.

Only a handful of Detroit’s 100 schools were open as a result of widespread teacher absences.

The Detroit Federation of Teachers has asked members to help distribute leaflets outside the auto show on Wednesday. Already, the district is run by an emergency manager appointed by Snyder, a Republican.

It also would allow hearings to be held for more than one teacher at a time, empower the state superintendent to revoke their teaching certificates and impose larger fines.

American Federation of Teachers Administrator for DFT Ann Mitchell and DFT interim president Ivy Bailey wrote on the DFT website Tuesday they know there’s a long way to go. “When teachers decide not to come to work, we have no other option but to close the schools”, Zdrodowski said.

Mayor Mike Duggan called for teachers to stop staging sick-outs and return to their classrooms while state legislators work on solving the district’s financial crisis. She said her demands include supplies, art, music, gym and proper maintenance.

“(The mayor feels) the best thing for them to do is go back to school and teach”, Roach said.

Flack from the drinking water crisis in the city of Flint, involving high levels of lead, is also haunting the emergency manager who has handled the Detroit school crisis. “While on the other side of school, it’s so cold that they’re keeping their coats on”. Over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend the hashtag #SupportDPSTeachers trended on Twitter in the United States as educators in the Motor City posted dozens of shocking images of building code and safety violations at schools.