Today is Teacher Appreciation Day, but Detroit City School teachers are not feeling very appreciated. The School District say it won't be able to meet payroll over the summer months, so the teachers didn't show up for work again today, shutting down every school in Michigan's largest city.

The crisis at the Detroit Schools is so bad that teachers won’t be getting paychecks over the summer.

The problem is most teachers have their pay spread out over 12 months. That means no pay for work they will have done. Enter the sick out.

The union that represents Detroit's teachers says they don't have to show up for class today. This would be the second straight day teachers stay away from school. Their sick-out yesterday closed just about all the schools in Detroit.

The Detroit Federation of Teachers website carried a statement that reads "We do not work for free and therefore we do not expect you to report to school." The Detroit Public Schools says it doesn't have the money to pay teachers after June 30th.

Detroit's Public School system is deep in the red with more than half a billion dollars of operating debt.

The union statement went on to say:  "Detroit Federation of Teachers leaders spent the day meeting with DPS (Detroit Public Schools)Transition Manager Judge Steven Rhodes and other decision makers to get an assurance that our members will be paid for their work. Still, they refuse to say the three words our members need to hear: 'I guarantee it.' "

The head of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, is in the city to join the protest.


 

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