Most of Detroit’s public schools close amid teacher sick-out

He will visit the city to toast the U.S. automotive industry’s rebound at the North American International Auto Show.

“Things have been happening for so long, and I think teachers felt like they had no voice”, said special education teacher Lacetia Walker about crumbling schools and over-sized classes. The school district listed the shuttered schools on its Facebook page Wednesday morning.

“This means that 44,790 of the district’s 46,325 students lost a critical day of instruction”, Zdrodowski said.

“Due to a high volume of teacher absences, the following schools will be closed today”, the DPS wrote on its website before listing the majority of its schools.

The teachers say they are protesting classroom overcrowding, mold in classrooms, collapsing ceilings and dilapidated buildings, none of which was addressed in Snyder’s speech Tuesday night, though the governor said that “Detroit schools are in need of a transformational change”. President Obama was also in town to visit the auto show. Last week, teacher absences resulted in three consecutive days of school closures. The schools are a separate unit of government that wasn’t included in the city’s reorganization.

DPS’s emergency manager Darnell Earley said earlier this month that the district could run out of cash by April or May if the state doesn’t help.

Todd McInturf/AP Hundreds of people attended the protest to speak out against the state’s handling of Detroit Public Schools and water in the nearby city of Flint.

The teachers are part of a sick-out on Wednesday, which has forced the district to close 88 of its 97 schools.

Mayor Mike Duggan is calling for teachers in the city’s troubled schools to stop staging sick-outs and return to their classrooms while state legislators work on solving the district’s financial crisis.

Duggan and White House official Cecilia Munoz met with the media at a local eatery after the mayor gave Munoz a tour of some city neighborhoods.

They waved signs and at times were joined by others protesting Flint’s water crisis and other issues. “Lansing needs to act”.

Ann Mitchell, the administrator for the Detroit Federation of Teachers, told the Detroit Free Press that the union was prepared “to fight for our teachers because they’re fighting for the kids of Detroit“. The sick-outs also appear to be gaining support from more of the rank and file.

The sickouts are in response to poor building conditions, large class sizes and supply shortages, among other issues, teachers and union officials have said.

The statement goes on to say the district will continue to meet with the federation of teachers to “develop viable solutions” to their demands.

Gov. Rick Snyder pushed lawmakers to pass bills to overhaul Detroit’s school district during his State of the State speech.

Teachers again are threatening to skip work on Thursday even though the district is seeking a temporary court injunction in an attempt to stop future sickouts, the Detroit Free Press reports.