Cash-strapped Detroit school system ‘cannot afford to pay its teachers’

Teachers in Detroit are facing the prospect of not being paid after April 8 because the city’s public school system is running out of cash so quickly, a lead official warned this week.
10th March 2016, 12:10pm

Share

Cash-strapped Detroit school system ‘cannot afford to pay its teachers’

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/cash-strapped-detroit-school-system-cannot-afford-pay-its-teachers
Thumbnail

Want to keep up with the latest education news and opinion? Follow TES USA on Twitter and like TES US on Facebook.

Steven Rhodes, the state-appointed emergency manager of Detroit Public Schools, said urgent action was needed to deal with the school system’s growing debt problem or else teachers will not receive a pay packet beyond April.

Mr Rhodes, who was parachuted in earlier this month, and superintendent Alycia Meriweather gave the warning while giving evidence to the members of the House Appropriations Committee.

The pair urged the House to agree a plan to deal with the district’s debt problem, according to local news reports.

“The April 8th date concerns me greatly because there is no Plan B,” he said, according to the Detroit News. “To go dark after April 8th is not an acceptable solution.”

“We cannot print money. We looked at some options, like expenses that could be deferred but that’s not enough to buy another two weeks of pay for teachers,” he added.

The city’s school system already has $515m worth of operating debt, and a total debt of an eye-watering $3bn.

The cash-strapped schools have been the center of national focus for some time, not least for the state of their dilapidated buildings.

The schools, some of which are infested with mold, rats and cockroaches, have forced teachers to lead mass walkouts or “sickouts” in a bid to draw greater attention to the problem.  

Speaking to reporters after his appearance at the hearing, Mr Rhodes warned that the system was in danger of running out of cash next month.

“We can pay employees for the work they do through April 8, but not after that... I cannot, in good conscience, ask teachers to work after April 8 knowing that I can’t pay them when their paychecks are due two weeks later,” he said, the Detroit Free Press reported.

A $50m package is needed urgently to carry schools through to the end of the academic year, but legislators cannot agree to a long term plan for the school system. 

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Recent
Most read
Most shared