10 years ago, Detroit teachers protested building conditions. What’s changed since?

February 4, 2026

A decade after Detroit teachers organized mass sick-outs in January 2016 to draw national attention to hazardous school conditions including rats, roaches, mold, and collapsing infrastructure, the district has made significant but incomplete progress. The protests, which occurred during state emergency management of the schools, prompted building inspections and led to over $700 million in federal COVID relief funding being invested in renovations and rebuilding. However, this investment addresses only a fraction of the district's $2.

Who is affected

Detroit Public Schools Community District students who continue attending schools with infrastructure problems
Detroit teachers who organized sick-outs in 2016, including Steve Conn, Nina Chacker, Ivy Bailey, and Carrie Russell
Detroit Federation of Teachers union members
Superintendent Nikolai Vitti and current district administration
Detroit school board (which regained power after emergency management ended in 2016)
State-appointed emergency managers who controlled the district from 2009-2016
Suburban district students who receive higher per-pupil funding

What action is being taken

The district is constructing new schools to replace buildings in the worst condition
Superintendent Vitti is addressing the biggest needs in other buildings
The district continues to recommend shifting unspent funds to one-time building improvements
Vitti presented a new proposal to use $79.4 million in surplus funding for demolishing 11 buildings, boarding up 11 properties, building an athletic complex, re-paving parking lots at 36 schools, improving fencing at 28 schools, and replacing the roof at Charles Wright Academy

Why it matters

This situation highlights systemic educational inequality and demonstrates how inadequate infrastructure affects students' learning environments and teachers' working conditions. The $3,000 per-pupil funding gap between Detroit and some suburban districts perpetuates inequities, as Michigan's state funding model doesn't earmark money for school infrastructure, forcing districts to divert general funds or rely on local taxes. The 2016 protests proved effective in catalyzing change and exposing how years of state emergency management and insufficient investment created unsafe conditions, but the remaining $2.1 billion in unmet infrastructure needs shows that one-time federal relief is insufficient to address decades of deferred maintenance and underfunding.

What's next

The district will continue constructing new schools to replace buildings in the worst condition
Vitti plans to continue recommending that surplus funding be shifted to building improvements
The $79.4 million surplus funding proposal awaits implementation for the specific projects outlined
Vitti is advocating for more equitable state funding to close the gap

Read full article from source: bridgedetroit.com