Eighteen schools in Detroit were closed Thursday due to staffing shortages. Teachers and other school personnel took the day off to head to Lansing to protest Governor Rick Snyder’s plan to overhaul the district. The plan includes enabling more charter schools to open in the city.
Fourth grade teacher, Katie Cunningham says that’s a bad idea.
“I worked in a charter school for several years, and I saw the problems, the many problems in a charter school, and I just don’t want those conditions to happen to our students in DPS.”
Though, Republican state House Speaker Kevin Cotter says he’s angry that 18 schools in Detroit closed Thursday because teachers and school staff took a day off to protest at the state Capitol. The educators are opposed to Governor Rick Snyder’s plan to overhaul the school district.
Cotter says that was the wrong thing to do. “We have adults here protesting the governor’s presentation of a plan? If they’re protesting his plan, they ought to get ready to protest mine.”
Cotter says he’s opposed to using the state School Aid Fund to reimburse the Detroit schools for money used to pay its legacy debt. That’s part of the governor’s proposal that would have to be approved by the Legislature.
The district’s state-appointed emergency manager says disagreements about how to run the schools should not be allowed to affect students.
