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The Detroit Public Schools system is more than $500 million in the red. To abet control its fiscal crisis,the school system moved to slice off summer pay that had been promised to teachers. Many educators prefer smaller paychecks all year long so they can receive a salary during the summer months.
Teachers in the Motor City held a "sick out" this week to protest the pay slice offs, but after two days they returned to work on Tuesday. Teacher strikes are illegal in Michigan, and so calling in sick is the only form of protest available to those with the Detroit Public Schools system.“Why can't we just move ahead and get the money that we need to pay off our debts so we can move on,so we can make Detroit public schools the quality school system that it once was?" said Ivy Bailey, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers in an interview on WJBK TV Monday.
Sharlonda Buckman, and CEO of Detroit Parent Network,discusses the fiscal crisis facing the Detroit Public Schools system.
Source: wnyc.org