94 Detroit Schools Closed Again

94 schools are closed again today due to a teacher sick-out in the Detroit Public Schools. Representative Al Pscholka says the strife comes just as the House Appropriations Committee planned to take up the DPS bailout package and he’s no longer sure the votes are there to move it to the House floor.

“At the end of last week we did,” said Pscholka, adding “there are a lot of folks very nervous about this now.”

Ivy Bailey is the acting president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers and says they aren’t looking at it as a walk-out. Instead, they view it as a lock-out because DPS transition manager Steven Rhodes says teachers won’t be paid after June 30 because there won’t be any money left.

“Basically, they’re asking people to work without getting paid,” said Bailey. Rhodes contends he has always said the nearly $49 million in emergency funding provided by the Legislature last month was to keep the district operating through the end of June. Anything beyond that will require the House and Senate passing bills to create a new school district and use the current DPS to get rid of $515 million in debt.