Sickout closes Detroit schools

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 still were 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.

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.The 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 April 8. 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 now is 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 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.