All Detroit teachers could possibly be laid off if spending budget problems not resolved

All school administrators and teachers employed by the city of Detroit are being laid off. Starting July 29, no educator employed by the Motor City can have a job because of the deeply troubled finances of the city. A 3rd of Detroit is uninhabited, and individuals have been leaving in droves. Post resource – Severe budget problems could get all Detroit teachers laid off by MoneyBlogNewz.

Motor City schools $327 million in debt

The public school system in the city of Detroit, Mich., is so plagued by financial problems the city is being forced to lay off every single one of its teachers and school administrators, according to CNN. To raise over $230 million to stay alive through August of the year, the Detroit School District issued emergency bonds in March while continuing to have its $327 million deficit. Drastic measures were required since the district was able to raise half a year’s budget, although it was not enough. First on the firing line were staff salaries. The layoff notices are being given to all 5,714 teachers and school administrators in Detroit. July 29 could be the end of teachers in Detroit. The city will no longer be paying for it.

Nobody wants to stay

Detroit, once a sprawling metropolis and industrial powerhouse, has been losing people steadily for more than a decade. There are now the same numbers of individuals in Detroit as there was in 1910 as 25 percent of the population left in just the last 10 years. A third of the city, according to MSNBC, sits vacant. The school district has 10,000 fewer students than in 2001. In March, when the Detroit School District went into crisis mode, a law titled Public Act 4 was passed by the Michigan legislature that granted broad powers to emergency financial managers employed by state and local governments. Robert Bobb is the emergency financial manager for the public schools in Detroit. As an emergency measure, he is using the law now.

Firing may not happen

When it comes to layoffs, not every person will really be losing their jobs. Bobb, the emergency financial manager, is said to be restructuring Detroit schools in order to bring them in line with declining enrollment. However, he is also going to restructure the CBA that exists between the city and the Detroit Federation of Teachers. Bobb is likely trying to repeat what happened in 2009 when the district and union made an agreement to cut back on health benefits and teachers salaries. If the fiscal issues are not controlled, Detroit may have to deal with a state takeover, report Reuters. By 2015, the $155 million Detroit deficit might grow to $1.2 billion which would really start in 2014. Just like Bobb took over Detroit schools, an emergency manager might be assigned by the state to the city.

Citations

CNN

money.cnn.com/2011/04/15/news/economy/detroit_teachers/index.htm

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/42612424/ns/us_news-life/

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/04/12/us-detroit-budget-idUSTRE73B5GT20110412