Oklahoma teachers say that the bill approved on Thursday isn’t enough. Teachers across the country are fed up with the every child and teacher left behind attitude of conservatives in our country, and they will be going through with the walkout they promised, on Monday.
The Oklahoma Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union that represents nearly 40,000 members and school personnel, called the passage of the bill "a truly historic moment," but one that remains "incomplete," according to its president, Alicia Priest. [...]
"While this is major progress, this investment alone will not undo a decade of neglect," Priest said. "Lawmakers have left funding on the table that could be used immediately to help Oklahoma students."
"This package doesn't overcome shortfall caused by four-day weeks, overcrowded classrooms that deprive kids of the one-on-one attention they need. It's not enough," Priest said. "We must continue to push for more annual funding for our schools to reduce class size and restore more of the 28% of funds they cut from education over the last decade."
While Republican Governor Mary Fallin is trying to sell this bill as a “truly historic moment,” the facts of the matter are that Oklahoma has a failing school system, where the state legislators have consistently
made deep cuts to education budgets over the past decade. Under Gov. Mary Fallin, after cutting hundreds of millions of dollars, she and her Republican bullshit artists have increased funding, below inflation levels, once before. Neither time has it even approached being enough to fill the hole she and her party created.
In unrelated news, the couple of hundred million state legislators approved in spending on renovating the state’s capitol
continues to balloon.
The proposed reflecting pool and arch would cost an estimated $28.5 million. The arch could be built with private funds, said John Estus, a spokesman for the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
The proposed parking garage would cost an estimated $20.5 million. The remaining $16 million of the $65 million in costs would be for fees and insurance, Estus said.
The hard reality is that this is going on in every state, city and town in America. While teachers watch our elected leaders gorge themselves in transparent corruption and special interests, children and teachers are both figuratively and literally bleeding to death.
No justice. No peace. It’s time to strike.