The Detroit schools emergency manager resigns after a month of 'sick-outs' and stomach-turning images of decay

Detroit Public Schools (DPS) emergency manager Darnell Earley announced he will step down at the end of February, The Detroit Free Press reported.

Earley's resignation follows a tumultuous month at Detroit schools. The Detroit Federation of Teachers struck out at DPS with a lawsuit filed last week claiming the district allowed schools to deteriorate "to the point of crisis" and have put the health and safety of students and staff at risk.

The suit alleges a litany of deplorable conditions in DPS including "black mold, bacteria, freezing cold temperatures in classrooms, rodent and insect infestations, exposed wiring, hazards that could lead to incidents of tripping, and falling debris to name a few."

The lawsuit came after almost every public school in Detroit, Michigan was closed on January 20, after teachers called out sick to protest what they said are deplorable school conditions.

The appalling conditions were echoed by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan who took a tour of Detroit schools in mid-January.

Duggan said he saw a dead mouse, freezing classrooms where students were wearing coats, and severely damaged rooms, according to the Associated Press. Duggan's school tour was precipitated by an earlier teacher sick-out that closed 64 schools.

"Our children need our teachers in the classroom," Duggan said in January, according to the AP. "But there's no question about the legitimacy of the issues that they're raising."

Earley, an unelected emergency manager, was appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder last January. Emergency management in the district began in 2009 when Detroit was ruled to be in a financial emergency. His appointment follows a string of consecutive managers for the district, as he is the fourth appointment in six years.

Earley was considered by some people to be an unsuitable leader for DPS since he was also emergency manager of Flint, Michigan from 2013 to 2015.

Under Earley, Flint transitioned its water source, resulting in elevated levels of lead in Flint's drinking water. It has been deemed a public health disaster.

"Darnell Earley has to go," Ingrid Jacques, a deputy editor at The Detroit News, wrote. "The emergency manager of Detroit Public Schools is now irrevocably tainted by his time in that same role for the city of Flint," she continued.

Following Earley's resignation, Snyder praised his hard work for DPS.

"I want to thank him for his professionalism and his service to the people of Michigan," Snyder said, according to the Detroit Free Press. "He restructured a heavily bureaucratic central office, set in place operating and cost-containment measures, and has taken steps to stabilize enrollment."