Surge in teacher activism challenges GOP austerity mindset
A wave of teacher walkouts in Republican-run states, from West Virginia to Kentucky and Oklahoma, has cast a national spotlight on their tax-and-spend priorities amid growing public disquiet over funding for education and other public services.
Teachers have forcefully pressed their case for more money, at times going further than union leaders by refusing to settle for less from state lawmakers. In West Virginia, a nine-day walkout by 35,000 school employees led to a March 6 deal that raised salaries by 5 percent for all state workers and put a freeze on rising health-insurance premiums.
In Oklahoma, teachers brought their protest into the Capitol building Tuesday, closing schools across the state for a second day. The mass walkout was the catalyst for lawmakers to pass a major revenue bill – the first in 28 years – to raise teacher salaries that were among the nation’s lowest. Now teachers say they want an additional $75 million for education before they go back to work.
Arizona is watching closely: Thousands of teachers rallied last week in Phoenix to demand a pay increase and threaten similar actions. In Kentucky, schools were shut last Friday and again on Monday after a walkout prompted by last-minute changes to pensions for new teachers.
Nine years into an economic
45 kids in a class; one set of booksMarching from Tulsa'Younger teachers don't have a reason to stay'
