Steve Conn said he held a conference call this evening with more than 100 teachers from almost every building within Detroit Public Schools.
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Ivy Bailey, interim president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said the latest sick-out is the result “of the lack of respect that has been displayed toward teachers in this district, hazardous working conditions, oversize classes” and other factors.
Conn also said a group he leads, the Detroit Strike to Win Committee, will meet Thursday night to vote on a list of strike demands, including the end of state-appointed emergency management of the 46,000-student district, raises for teachers and the restoration of music, art and gym programs.
Detroit’s local economy has come back from the brink, but the schools have reached a breaking point. On Jan. 11, 64 of the district’s schools had to shut.
The sickouts have not risen to the level of an all-out strike, because such a move is prohibited by MI law.
Detroit Public Schools, which are under state oversight, have seen declining enrollment as the city’s population decreased and heavy pension and debt obligations that have left the district in danger of running out of cash in April.
“This movement has grown, and I think it has grown among the teachers themselves”, Mitchell said.
“We have got to stop this whole business by Snyder, which is an attempt just further the charters and further, really, the destruction of education in the city”.
Wednesday’s sickout is nearly certainly meant to coincide with President Barack Obama’s visit to Detroit for the North American International Auto Show. The Detroit Federation of Teachers reported that three of these have already been met in a letter of agreement DPS emergency manager Darnell Earley signed Tuesday.
The visit highlights the rebound of auto industry since Obama’s auto industry bailouts during the recession of 2008 and 2009.
“The students have been forced to go to school in conditions that are not very good conditions for a learning environment, there’s black mold, there’s no hot water”, Michigan State Rep. Sherry Dagnogo told RT.”All of this has taken place under state control”.
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. In response, city officials have started inspecting schools for any code and safety violations.
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On Wednesday Detroit Public Schools spokesperson Michelle Zdrodowski told reporters, “The only way we will be able to address the bigger issues is through an investment by the Michigan Legislature in the students and families of DPS”, reported the Detroit Free Press. “Lansing needs to act”.
