Dozens of Detroit Schools Close After Teachers Hold 'Sick Out' Over Funding

DETROIT (TheBlaze/AP) — A few hundred Detroit teachers are picketing outside the district headquarters, protesting the possibility that some will not receive paychecks during the summer months if Detroit Public Schools runs out of money.

The district's state-appointed transition manager Steven Rhodes says 45,628 of approximately 46,000 students were forced to miss classes Monday as 1,562 teachers called in sick. The mass sick-out has forced the district to close 94 of its 97 schools.

Image source: WXYZ-TV

“This is the final straw. No person should be asked to work without pay," Ivy Bailey, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers told the Detroit News.

Detroit's schools are expected to be out of cash starting July 1. The state earlier gave the district $48.7 million in emergency funding to keep it open through June 30 as the Legislature considers a $720 million restructuring plan.

Rhodes says the restructuring plan is needed to pay teachers who've chosen to have their checks spread over the full year.

"The $48[.7] million is only enough to get us through June 30...I believe the legislators will do the right thing because it is their moral and constitutional obligation to provide a free education for all students. We have no borrowing options," Rhodes said, according to the Detroit News.

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