Refusing to submit to massive pay and benefit cuts, public school teachers in Detroit voted overwhelmingly to strike on Sunday, Aug. 27, just over a week before classes are set to begin. The concessions proposed by the district administration total $88 million, an average of nearly $10,000 per teacher.
In addition to a 5.5 percent wage cut and increases in healthcare co-pays of up to 20 percent, the district wants to
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The Detroit school administration, which itself received pay raises of up to 10.6 percent this year, has threatened to fine the teachers and their union, the Detroit Federation of Teachers. Michigan law makes public employee strikes illegal.
Detroit teachers are among the lowest paid public teachers in the state. They agreed to loan the district five days of pay in 2005 and have yet to be repaid. Shortages in school supplies, books, and even toilet paper often force teachers to spend their own money on these basic items. Students and their families also have to chip in. Students in Detroit, 91 percent of whom are African American, have a poverty rate that is three times higher than the rest of Michigan.
Many of the school buildings in Detroit are deteriorating due to years of neglect. Some have many broken windows and lack heat or electricity. Earlier this year, Detroit high school students staged walkouts to protest leaking roofs and a lack of textbooks and toilet paper.
“Personally I feel that they really don’t say by their actions that they really care about the teachers,” said teacher Sharon Austin. “There are times that we spend our own money in those classrooms. We do a lot of things beyond the call of duty. And then when they come at us like this it’s like a slap in the face.” (Wxyz.com, Aug. 28)
Detroit public schools in bad shape
The strike comes as the Detroit school district faces large debts and budget deficits due to financial mismanagement and rapidly declining enrollment. Enrollment is down largely because of privately run charter schools and neighboring suburban districts, which drain Detroit public schools of badly needed funds.
An audit of the Detroit school district by the U.S. Department of Education found funds dedicated to increasing parental involvement were misspent on items like duplicate salaries, job perks and entertainment. A $1.4 billion bond measure passed by voters in 1994 to fix aging school facilities has produced few improvements, prompting many to call for an audit of the bond spending. The bond is earning high revenue for banks while sinking the school district deeper into debt.
Enrollment in Detroit public schools dropped by 11,000 students last year to approximately 130,000 students and is projected to decrease by at least 9,300 this year. Meanwhile, charter school enrollment has increased by 23 percent. If charter schools continue to pull students at current rates, Detroit charter school enrollment will be greater than public school enrollment by the 2009-10 school year. Since school funding in Michigan is tied directly to enrollment, each student lost to charter schools means less financial support for public schools.
Although charter schools receive public funding, they are privately run and are able to hand-pick their student population. Employee unions are seldom allowed at charter schools, leading to lower teacher salaries and high staff turnover rates. Studies also show that charter school student performance is at the same level or worse than at comparable public schools.
The crisis in public education in Detroit is mirrored throughout the country. Schools in cities and towns all over the United States are underfunded and understaffed. The U.S. government’s dedication of hundreds of billions of dollars to imperialist war and militarism takes away much-much needed funds that could be used to bolster quality public education and other social programs.
The striking public school teachers in Detroit are standing up to anti-union attacks and the overall racist assault on the right to public education. The Detroit teachers’ struggle belongs to all workers. It is for human rights and against racism and capitalist exploitation.
