l******a
发帖数: 3803 | 1 for the ultimate hellish Damnedcraps!
to them, America's future is here now in Detroit, kudos to Hilarious and
Sanders!
Teacher sickout closes most Detroit schools Monday
By Emma Brown May 2 at 8:26 AM
The ceiling is crumbling in this room at Ron Brown Academy, an elementary
school in Detroit. (Detroit Federation of Teachers)
All but a handful of Detroit Public Schools were closed Monday after
teachers — angry that the troubled district may not be able to pay them
over the summer — threatened a sickout.
More than 90 of the district’s approximately 100 schools were closed,
according to announcements on the district’s Facebook page, and additional
closures were still being added early Monday. More than 40,000 students
attend the city’s schools.
Leaders of the Detroit Federation of Teachers learned over the weekend that
the district would run out of emergency state funding at the end of June,
according to the Detroit News.
[Rats, roaches, mold: Poor conditions lead to teacher sickout, closure of
most Detroit schools]
That means that unless the state legislature passes a plan to rescue the
system, the district won’t be able to make payroll over the summer, leaving
teachers unpaid for work they did during the school year.
“There’s a basic agreement in America: When you put in a day’s work, you
’ll receive a day’s pay. DPS is breaking that deal,” Ivy Bailey, the
union’s interim president, said in a statement. “Teachers want to be in
the classroom giving children a chance to learn and reach their potential.
Unfortunately, by refusing to guarantee that we will be paid for our work,
DPS is effectively locking our members out of the classrooms.”
The union is planning a rally for 10 a.m. Monday to “protest the news that
Detroit educators will not be paid for their work,” according to a news
release.
Why so many Detroit teachers are 'calling in sick' to work
Play Video2:29
Detroit public school teachers are staging "sick-outs." Here is what you
need to know about the school conditions that they say make it difficult to
do their jobs. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)
The troubled school system has a $515 million operating debt and a total
debt that exceeds $3 billion.
Steven Rhodes, Detroit Public Schools’ state-appointed emergency manager,
warned state lawmakers in early March that the system would run out of cash
on April 8.
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Lawmakers responded with $48.7 million in emergency funding, enough to keep
the system afloat until June 30. The Senate passed a longer-term $715
million fix; the House is now debating that plan.
“I am confident that the Michigan Legislature understands the urgency of
this situation and will act in a timely manner to ensure that operations of
the school district continue uninterrupted,” Rhodes, a retired federal
judge, said in a statement. “I am working everyday with policy makers in
Lansing to move this legislation forward.”
Rhodes said that it was “unfortunate” that the union had called for a
sickout, calling it “counterproductive and detrimental.”
“I am on record as saying that I cannot in good conscience ask anyone to
work without pay,” Rhodes said. “Wages that are owed to teachers should be
paid. I understand the frustration and anger that our teachers feel. I am,
however, confident that the legislature will support the request that will
guarantee that teachers will receive the pay that is owed to them.”
Under Michigan law, teachers may not strike, but Detroit teachers have
staged multiple sickouts in recent months to protest the deplorable
conditions of the city’s school buildings.
Detroit teachers describe falling tiles, mice in public schools
Play Video2:15
Detroit teachers said they would continue their protest action Jan. 25,
after the city's school system failed to secure a restraining order to stop
them. Teachers across the city have been calling in sick to protest what
they say are unacceptable school conditions. (The Washington Post) |
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