Republican leaders in Lansing had some harsh words for teachers who virtually shut down the Detroit school district Monday with a “sickout.” That’s after they were told they could soon be facing payless paydays.
Teachers who spread their paychecks through the summer could see their paychecks stop after June 30th. State lawmakers approved emergency money to get the district through that date, but not beyond. That was supposed to buy lawmakers time to work on a larger-scale solution. House Republican spokesman Gideon D’Assandro says the “sickout” doesn’t help that effort.
“This casts a lot of doubt on the ability of the district to manage itself and to get itself back up and running.”
The protest closed 90 schools and idled 40,000 students as a state House committee is about to hold its first hearing on a $700 million bailout plan.
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— Rick Pluta is the Managing Editor and Reporter for the Michigan Public Radio network. Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org