Detroit public school teachers hold vote that could affect in-person classes

DETROIT – Teachers at Detroit public schools are holding a vote Wednesday that could put a hold on in-person learning, though remote classes could still go on as planned.

Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said teachers are voting on whether to give leaders of the Detroit Federation of Teachers the authority to use a possible strike as a bargaining tool.

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DFT and the DPSCD are actively negotiating what the return-to-school plan will look like.

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But the vote could quickly put the brakes on any plans for in-person learning when classes resume.

Both sides have been working toward a new contract for the 4,500 members of the DFT -- 3,500 of whom are teachers for DPSCD.

While negotiations continue with no breakdown during the process, DFT called for the vote among its membership.

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The vote could affect whether teachers return to face-to-face learning, but not whether there’s remote instruction. The problem is remote learning isn’t feasible for many in the district.

Vitti has been a proponent of continuing in-person learning for about 25% of the school population.

You can watch Mara MacDonald’s full update on the situation in the video above.