Campaign Action
Oklahoma teachers continue to keep schools across the state closed as they fight for better education funding. State legislators got an earful on Tuesday:
Protest chants filled the Capitol rotunda Tuesday as educators pressed lawmakers to take action on stalled-out measures that could bring in additional revenues for school operations. Thousands spent the day outside, protesting or waiting to get in.
“What do we want? Funding! When do we want it? Now!” [...]
The Oklahoma Education Association listed three teacher demands that would end the walkout: fill the $50 million gap created in hotel/motel tax the Legislature repealed last week, pass a bill that would bring in revenue by allowing “ball and dice” gambling, and find additional revenue sources to increase funding for schools.
The state legislature has voted the teachers a raise, but they’re holding out for bigger fixes. Fixes like textbooks that aren't falling apart, and enough textbooks to go around, and textbooks that are up to date and fulfill current curriculum standards. Like having enough school supplies that teachers don't have to get second jobs just to pay for their students’ basic educational needs. School funding and teacher pay are two sides of the same coin—teachers deserve to be paid a living wage and not have to say that “If I didn't have a second job, I'd be on food stamps,” teachers deserve to have the tools to teach their students, and students deserve to have the tools they need to learn. The overall education funding picture in Oklahoma is dire. But according to Republican Gov. Mary Fallin, demands for adequate funding are “kind of like a teenager wanting a better car.” Yes, because a teenager wanting a nice car is just the same as teachers wanting every student in the state to have a textbook that’s up to date and not falling apart.
In Kentucky, meanwhile, teachers are waging a similar fight to protect their own pensions and for increased education funding. Both Kentucky and Oklahoma are following on the successful strike by West Virginia teachers. Arizona teachers are also contemplating a walkout over similar issues.