Students join US teacher protest in Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY: Students joined teachers in Oklahoma City Wednesday for a third day of protests demanding that state lawmakers increase funding for public schools after years of budget cuts.
“We the students of Oklahoma are with you for as long as this strike takes,” student Cameron Olbert told a rally outside the state capitol, epicenter of a demonstration that has attracted tens of thousands of people.
Protesters overwhelmed offices of their state representatives and on Tuesday jeered when the state legislature refused to consider additional school funding.
“I have 35 students per class for 28 seats in my classroom,” Richard Covett, 47, told AFP, “and 28 textbooks for a total of 120 students.”
Oklahoma, where the oil and gas industry dominates, is among a handful of states that cut its education budget deeply as public coffers were drained by tax cuts and the 2008 economic downturn.
Even though the economy has improved, the education cuts have not been restored in full, prompting struggling teachers to fight back.
Their protest has brought to light stories of teachers taking multiple jobs to make ends meet, and neglect and disrepair in classrooms.
“In many Oklahoma schools, books are falling apart, desks are cutting the students who sit in them, buildings are not heated or air conditioned, and school supplies are rationed,” 16-yearold Grace Fox said at the student rally.
The teachers’ union said many of its members were prepared to protest through the week, if not beyond – shuttering many schools in the state for an indefinite period.
The students, some of whom are near voting age, threatened to punish unresponsive politicians in the November mid- terms, raising the stakes for Republicans in what would normally be one of their strongholds. — AFP