Teacher activism builds across nation
About 1 million students in Arizona and Colorado got the day off Thursday as educators rallied at state capitols for more money.
Classes are canceled for hundreds of thousands of students in Arizona and Colorado as educators descend on state capitols to rally for more education funding, part of a wave of teacher activism that has swept through West Virginia, Kentucky and Oklahoma.
The walkouts in the two states mirror earlier activism as educators, parents and the business community campaign to reverse years of cuts that have left teachers without raises, schools in disrepair and classrooms bereft of up-to-date textbooks and modern technology. The school funding reductions in the GOP-led states are a byproduct of generous tax cuts.
In Arizona, 102 school districts —including many of the state’s largest — announced they would close Thursday. More than 20 districts in Colorado announced they would close today, according to Chalkbeat. All told, the closures in both states mean more than a million students are scheduled to miss school because of teacher demonstrations.
Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association, said the walkouts are the culmination of years of frustration from educators, who have seen class sizes rise as their salaries remained stagnant.
“They have got so little to lose that this is the option they’re choosing,” the union leader said.
When adjusted for inflation, Arizona cut total state per-pupil funding by 37 percent between 2008 and 2015, more than any other state. That has led to relatively low teacher salaries, crumbling school buildings and the elimination of free fullday kindergarten in some districts. In 2016, Arizona ranked 43rd in average teacher salaries, according to a study by the NEA. The state reduced its education budget after the recession, and corporate tax cuts dealt a massive blow to revenue.
Low teacher pay has contributed to teacher shortages in Arizona. Some districts, unable to find qualified teaching candidates, have turned to emergency long-term substitutes, who are required to hold only a high school diploma.
The Colorado Education Association, a major union, said teacher salaries in that state have fallen when adjusted for inflation. Teachers made an average of $46,155 in 2016, according to the NEA, putting them at 47th in the nation. The stagnant salaries, combined with skyrocketing housing prices in the booming state, have made life untenable for many educators. The state’s constitution gives only voters the authority to raise taxes, and they have twice rejected such proposals.
“Too many educators can’t afford to live in the communities where they teach,” the CEA said in a statement. “During the same time frame, corporations in Colorado have received over $1.6 billion in tax breaks, while every year, educators are asked to do more with less.”
Even before the walkouts, lawmakers in both states had announced plans for greater investments in education. Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey had pledged to give teachers a 20 percent raise by 2020, a promise that has yet to be borne out by legislation. Colorado lawmakers had already planned to invest an additional $425 million for the coming school year.
But educators in both states say that is not enough. In Arizona, teachers are also clamoring for the state to restore education funding to pre-recession levels. Colorado teachers say the $425 million is not enough to make up for all the lost ground following years of cuts.
“We don’t want to take this action, but it seems like this could be the only action that would bring about this change,” said Noah Karvelis, an elementary school music teacher in Phoenix.