Crazy World We Live: Detroit Teachers File Lawsuit Against School District For Deplorable Conditions

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Detroit Teachers File Lawsuit Against School District For Deplorable Conditions

An educator advocacy organization has charged the public school system for failing to provide a “minimally adequate education.”

Bill Pugliano / Getty Images

The American Federation of Teachers on Thursday announced that it had filed a lawsuit in state court against the Detroit public school system and its state-appointed Office of the Emergency Manager, Darnell Earley, for failing to provide a "minimally adequate education."

During a press conference, AFT administrator Ann Mitchell said that the organization was charging the school district and Earley with having "allowed the fiscal situation to deteriorate so severely."

She added, "Conditions are so severe that students, teachers, school employees, and all others that enter the building are risking their safety."

In the midst of a declining economy, Detroit Public Schools (DPS), the largest district in the state, has struggled to maintain the quality of its 104 campuses, according to the suit.

In 1999, the state of Michigan assumed control over the system. On January 13, 2015, Governor Rick Snyder appointed Darnell Earley as the DPS emergency manager. It currently faces a deficit of $515 million.

Notably, from September 2013 to January 2015, Earley was the emergency manager for the city of Flint, which is currently embroiled in a lead water crisis that has resulted in elevated levels of the chemical in residents' blood.

Detroit parents whose children are or have been enrolled in some of Detroit's public schools described on Thursday the deplorable conditions they've dealt with over the years.

The lawsuit cites grievances that include "black mold, bacteria, freezing
cold temperatures in classrooms, rodent and insect infestations, exposed wiring, hazards that could lead to incidents of tripping, and falling debris."

It also noted that some students were "suffering from respiratory illnesses from the toxic environment."

Shonique Kemp, a mother of three and one of the plaintiffs in the suit, said during the press conference that some schools did not have functioning drinking fountains and that she had seen mold in others.

"There is a high level of kids with asthma, including my own," she said. "I have asthma myself, and sometimes when I go up to the school I feel sick."