LOCAL BREAKING NEWS

from WDIV Detroit Channel 4

Parents are asked to pick up their children after an alleged teacher sickout has closed more than 50 schools in Detroit Wednesday. Teachers are calling in sick to protest pay raises for administrators and pay cuts for teachers.

Teachers had money taken out of their paychecks this pay period as a loan for the financially strapped Detroit Public Schools, but teachers were upset to learn that some principals and other administrators are set to receive an 11 percent pay raise.

On a normal day, about 300 teachers and staff members call in sick in the school district. At a school board meeting Tuesday evening, word came that about 1,500 of the district's teachers and staff had already called in sick for Wednesday.

The sickout is not sanctioned by the teachers' union and such an action might be illegal. The union and school district are negotiating a new contract.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick released the following statement regarding the alleged sickout:
"I am disappointed that some teachers have decided to not show up for class today, forcing the District to close schools. The actions of these teachers are hurting our children and our community. Teaching is a calling, not just a job."