Detroit teachers stage massive 'sickout' closing more than 90 schools

Detroit Public Schools lacks funding to make it beyond 30 June

Protesters outside the Michigan State building during a January 2016 sickout Bill Pugliano/Getty

More than 90 Detroit schools are shut down due to a massive teacher "sickout" that resulted following word that the district lacks the funds to pay them after 30 June.

The Detroit Federation of Teachers called for the district’s 2,600 teachers to call in sick to work - which will affect 94 of the district’s 97 schools for the city’s 46,000 students.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the city’s emergency manager, Judge Steven Rhodes, told the labour union that the district does not have the money to honour the teachers’ already-earned salaries beyond the 30 June date.

The district would also have to cancel summer school and special education services, unless state representatives approve a $715m education reform package. State senators already approved the package in March, the Free Press reports.

“I urge our legislators to act thoughtfully, but with the urgency that this situation demands,“ Mr Rhodes said in a statement.

Michigan Gov Rick Snyder - who is embroiled in controversy surrounding the Flint water supply - signed a bill in March that sent $48.7m to Detroit Public Schools in order to keep them open through the month of June.

Teachers said that they were ensured that the money would cover the two-thirds of teachers who opted for reduced salary every two-weeks - or a 26-week pay cycle - in order to receive paychecks over the summer.

“We just received information that this is not the case and we are outraged,” union interim President Ivy Bailey told members in a Saturday email. “The district has enough cash to make payroll through June 30, 2016 for all employees, but after that point, the district will not be able to continue paying employees unless our advocacy to secure the funds through legislation is successful.”

The lack of funds raises questions for teachers of whether or not the teachers who on the 26-week cycle were factored into the $48.7m emergency funding.

A 21-year veteran music teacher at the Duke Ellington Conservatory of Music and Art told the Free Press that he finds it “hard to believe these people - who are smart people” failed to consider the year-round payments.

“It just baffles me, actually, it just angers me,” Mr Patton said. “It sounds as if we are being used as pawns. … It seems there’s no accountability.”

Detroit teachers staged a similar sickout in January that closed 83 schools, during a visit by President Barack Obama. They wanted to bring attention to the school system's poor funding and unstable infrastructure.

The teachers’ union plans to hold a rally Monday morning.

Representatives of the Detroit Federation of Teachers were not immediately available to respond to request for comment.