DETROIT – Three Detroit Public Schools were closed Tuesday and others were operating with a skeleton staff after teachers called in sick with an ailment they call "Snyder flu."
The teachers are upset with Gov. Rick Snyder's plan to overhaul the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) system. Protest organizers held a news conference Tuesday afternoon to address the sickout.
DPS Emergency Manager Darnell Earley released this statement on the school closures due to teacher absences:
"Detroit Public Schools' sole focus and goal is the education of its more than 46,000 students. That focus should be shared by all DPS employees. While we can agree to disagree on matters of policy, those disagreements should never impact our students and the instructional time they are entitled to as it has today. This unfortunate turn of events, orchestrated by a very small minority of the good and dedicated employees of DPS, is seriously misguided and directly harms our students – taking away a day in the classroom that they cannot afford to miss. While the majority of our teachers are focused on their students today and every day, it is truly unfortunate that so many of that same minority, who profess to be dedicated educators, have decided to participate in this action given its unjustifiable and inexcusable consequence. This does absolutely nothing to further our collective efforts, nor to meet our goals over the next six months of improving academic achievement and becoming a solvent and sustainable school district governed under any form of local control."