Court of Claims Denies Injunction Against DPS Teachers
By Ann Zaniewski and Jennifer Dixon
Detroit Free Press
10:03 p.m. EST January 21, 2016
The Michigan Court of Claims today denied Detroit Public Schools' request for a temporary restraining order aimed at blocking teachers from calling sick-outs that have closed several dozen schools in recent weeks.
But the district will have another shot to make its case during a hearing scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday in Detroit.
DPS's lawsuit names 28 defendants, including two dozen teachers, grassroots groups, the Detroit Federation of Teachers, Steve Conn, the ousted president of the DFT, and Ivy Bailey, its interim president.
“The DFT is pleased that the court denied the district’s request for an immediate restraining order, and we look forward to keep fighting for our members, our community and the schools our kids deserve," Bailey said after the decision.
The denial came one day after 88 DPS schools were closed in the largest in a string of recent sick-outs teachers organized to bring attention to problems such as dangerous conditions in dilapidated buildings and large class sizes. Teachers protested outside the North American International Auto Show on Wednesday before and during a visit from President Barack Obama.
Conn, a controversial activist who was ousted from the union last year, urged teachers and students to not go to school Monday and attend the hearing instead.
"This is the future of Detroit, so everybody should be there," Conn said in a meeting he held with his supporters late today in a church basement. "This builds to a city-wide strike. It's the way now for all Detroit to get our schools back."
In the one-page order, Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Diane Stephens said she denied the request because DPS failed to meet the requirements of a court rule related to temporary restraining orders that are requested without notice to the other party. The DFT has not been served with notice of the suit.
The Court of Claims is under the Michigan Court of Appeals. Monday's hearing will be held in a Court of Appeals courtroom on the 14th floor of Cadillac Place, 3020 W. Grand Blvd.
DPS spokeswoman Michelle Zdrodowski said it's important for the courts to be involved.
"It's extremely important that the court play a role in the resolution of this issue," Zdrodowski said. "We look forward to the opportunity to inform the court of the serious effects that these continued sick-outs have on the district, its students and their families at the hearing on Monday."
DPS has been under an emergency manager for more than six years. Conn and the teachers who participated in the recent sick-outs say the 46,000-student district has gotten worse since the state took over.
"They've got to go. We're giving them the boot," Conn said about DPS emergency manager Darnell Earley and Gov. Rick Snyder, who appointed Earley.
While Conn said he was calling for a strike on Monday, it's illegal for teachers to strike. Also, past teachers' strikes in Detroit have always been coordinated through the union.
The DFT, which has said it did not organize the recent sick-outs, is not calling for teachers to stage a sick-out or strike Monday. The sickouts have been largely coordinated by a grassroots group called DPS Teachers Fight Back, with teachers at individual buildings voting on whether to participate.
Teachers called today's decision denying a restraining order a victory.
“I’m excited. I think that’s fabulous news," Lacetia Walker, an instructional specialist in DPS, said. "We have a right to protest in a peaceful manner."
The district's lawsuit has alleged that the cumulative effect of multiple sick-outs is the loss of at least seven instructional days. Other damages cited include students deprived of their school breakfasts and lunches, parents forced to miss work, nonstriking DPS employees forced to miss work and waste of taxpayer money.
Contact Ann Zaniewski: 313-222-6594 or azaniewski@freepress.com.
Detroit Free Press
10:03 p.m. EST January 21, 2016
The Michigan Court of Claims today denied Detroit Public Schools' request for a temporary restraining order aimed at blocking teachers from calling sick-outs that have closed several dozen schools in recent weeks.
But the district will have another shot to make its case during a hearing scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday in Detroit.
DPS's lawsuit names 28 defendants, including two dozen teachers, grassroots groups, the Detroit Federation of Teachers, Steve Conn, the ousted president of the DFT, and Ivy Bailey, its interim president.
“The DFT is pleased that the court denied the district’s request for an immediate restraining order, and we look forward to keep fighting for our members, our community and the schools our kids deserve," Bailey said after the decision.
The denial came one day after 88 DPS schools were closed in the largest in a string of recent sick-outs teachers organized to bring attention to problems such as dangerous conditions in dilapidated buildings and large class sizes. Teachers protested outside the North American International Auto Show on Wednesday before and during a visit from President Barack Obama.
Conn, a controversial activist who was ousted from the union last year, urged teachers and students to not go to school Monday and attend the hearing instead.
"This is the future of Detroit, so everybody should be there," Conn said in a meeting he held with his supporters late today in a church basement. "This builds to a city-wide strike. It's the way now for all Detroit to get our schools back."
In the one-page order, Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Diane Stephens said she denied the request because DPS failed to meet the requirements of a court rule related to temporary restraining orders that are requested without notice to the other party. The DFT has not been served with notice of the suit.
The Court of Claims is under the Michigan Court of Appeals. Monday's hearing will be held in a Court of Appeals courtroom on the 14th floor of Cadillac Place, 3020 W. Grand Blvd.
DPS spokeswoman Michelle Zdrodowski said it's important for the courts to be involved.
"It's extremely important that the court play a role in the resolution of this issue," Zdrodowski said. "We look forward to the opportunity to inform the court of the serious effects that these continued sick-outs have on the district, its students and their families at the hearing on Monday."
DPS has been under an emergency manager for more than six years. Conn and the teachers who participated in the recent sick-outs say the 46,000-student district has gotten worse since the state took over.
"They've got to go. We're giving them the boot," Conn said about DPS emergency manager Darnell Earley and Gov. Rick Snyder, who appointed Earley.
While Conn said he was calling for a strike on Monday, it's illegal for teachers to strike. Also, past teachers' strikes in Detroit have always been coordinated through the union.
The DFT, which has said it did not organize the recent sick-outs, is not calling for teachers to stage a sick-out or strike Monday. The sickouts have been largely coordinated by a grassroots group called DPS Teachers Fight Back, with teachers at individual buildings voting on whether to participate.
Teachers called today's decision denying a restraining order a victory.
“I’m excited. I think that’s fabulous news," Lacetia Walker, an instructional specialist in DPS, said. "We have a right to protest in a peaceful manner."
The district's lawsuit has alleged that the cumulative effect of multiple sick-outs is the loss of at least seven instructional days. Other damages cited include students deprived of their school breakfasts and lunches, parents forced to miss work, nonstriking DPS employees forced to miss work and waste of taxpayer money.
Contact Ann Zaniewski: 313-222-6594 or azaniewski@freepress.com.
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