Duggan sees dead mouse in ‘disturbing’ DPS schools tour
The mouse was small and dead inside a Detroit Public School classroom.
Mayor Mike Duggan saw the rodent Tuesday, during a tour of several schools with city officials looking for health and safety violations. The mayor, who also saw youngsters wearing their coats in a chilly classroom, said his building visits spurred him to seek immediate solutions to problems in the schools he described as “deeply disturbing.”
“I’ve seen a range of conditions,” he said Tuesday morning at Fisher Magnet Lower Academy. “Some building were well-maintained and some were deeply disturbing and I plan to look at a few more today. What I’m dealing with is making sure every building is safe.”
Duggan visited four schools Tuesday morning and planned to visit two more in the afternoon. He said he then will meet with building and safety officials to develop a plan to address the district as a whole, he said, by Wednesday.
The visits are in response to recent sickouts by district teachers, which brought to light what they describe as intolerable and unsafe working conditions in many buildings. The mass teacher absences forced DPS to shut 24 schools Tuesday, and 64 on Monday.
DPS spokeswoman Michelle Zdrodowski said the district does its best to maintain schools with an average age of 47 years old.
“There may be buckled floors or missing ceiling tiles, but the majority are in fairly good condition,” she said. “We are dedicated to keeping safe and good, clean Duggan sees dead mouse in ‘disturbing’ DPS schools tour:
