Detroit teachers are organizing to prevent a bill from passing the state legislature that they say would underfund schools and limit teachers’ rights.
There are two competing bills in the legislature aimed at resolving Detroit Public Schools’ current financial mess. The school system was at risk of going bankrupt because school officials said the district was “running out of money” in April, but the state provided $48.7 million in emergency funding to keep the district running. Now, as the end of the school year approaches, there are questions about long-term solutions.
Teachers were told that unless the legislature agrees on a restructuring plan to deal with the school district’s enormous debt, they won’t be paid after June, and summer school may not run. In response, hundreds of teachers called in sick at once, closing more than 90 schools. On Tuesday of last week, the teachers union, Detroit Federation of Teachers, said they would goback to work after assurance from Judge Steven Rhodes, the district’s emergency manager, that they would be paid.
Last week, the state house passed a a package of bills early in the morning — 4:30 a.m., to be exact — to split the district in half and allocate $500 million to pay off its operating deficit. But teachers are concerned about aspects of the House legislation. The legislation doesn’t recognize bargaining units, would impose penalties for going on strike or staging walkouts, would give the district power to hire noncertified teachers, and would tie teacher pay to test scores. The House also did not propose returning local control to the district, meaning there would be an appointed school board. The Detroit Financial Review Commission would choose the superintendent of the district.
The state senate’s proposal, on the other hand, would provide $715 million in funding and would introduce a commission to regulate public schools, which would oversee where traditional public schools and charter schools are located. State senators are pushing for $200 million loan instead of $33 million for transition costs, which is the same amount suggested by Gov. Rick Snyder (R). Mayor Mike Duggan (D) also supports the commission and says the $500 million isn’t enough.
Some Democratic lawmakers argue that allocating as little as $33 million means the legislature would be passing legislation to provide more money in a few months anyway.
“I don’t think we want to be in a situation where we pass a sum of money and then two or three months later we’re right back in front of the Legislature asking for more,” Sen. David Knezek (D)told the Associated Press.
To raise awareness and pressure lawmakers to pass the Senate bill instead of the one advancing in the House, teachers are going door-to-door all over the state in the hope that more widespread opposition to the legislation will help to stop it in its tracks. Detroit teachers and the American Federation of Teachers are also meeting with state lawmakers who may be on the fence about how to approach the school district’s finances, according to WXYZ, a local television station in Detroit.
The legislation opposed by teachers unions could come to the Senate floor as soon as Thursday.
This blog originally appeared at Thinkprogress.org on May 10, 2016. Reprinted with permission.
Casey Quinlan is an education reporter for ThinkProgress. Previously, she was an editor for U.S. News and World Report. She has covered investing, education crime, LGBT issues, and politics for publications such as the NY Daily News, The Crime Report, The Legislative Gazette, Autostraddle, City Limits, The Atlantic and The Toast.
