Detroit mayor: Teachers in sick-out should return to schools

DETROIT – Mayor Mike Duggan is calling for teachers in the city's troubled schools to stop staging sick-outs and return to their classrooms while state legislators work on solving the district's financial crisis.

Duggan and White House official Cecilia Munoz met with the media at a local eatery after the mayor gave Munoz a tour of some city neighborhoods.

More than 85 schools were closed Wednesday due to teacher absences, forcing thousands of students to remain home.

“The teachers need to be in the classroom. Their frustrations are legitimate, but the solution is not to send the kids home,” Duggan said.

Duggan said he met Tuesday with Detroit's delegation in the Legislature to work out their strategy on trying to improve conditions in the schools, which he says "are only getting worse. Lansing needs to act."

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