Oklahoma teachers set for walkout

OKLAHOMA CITY — The president of Oklahoma’s largest teacher’s organization said Thursday that teachers will walk out of their classrooms if lawmakers don’t approve a $6,000 raise by April 1, echoing the demands of other educators to boost teacher pay and increase education funding across the U.S.

Oklahoma Education Association President Alicia Priest said teachers are planning a statewide work stoppage April 2 unless the Legislature raises their salaries for the first time since 2008.

“We demand that the Legislature pass a budget with the necessary revenue to provide teacher and support personnel with a significant pay raise,” she said at a news conference. Priest said teachers are demanding a $6,000 raise this year and $2,000 in each of the next two years.

“After years of doing more with less … Oklahoma educators have reached a breaking point,” Priest said. “We will not allow our students to go without any longer.”

Educators contend low salaries for teachers and school support personnel have made staff shortages and overcrowded classrooms common in Oklahoma’s public schools. The National Education Association ranked Oklahoma 49th in the nation in teacher salaries in 2016.

Kim Morris, an elementary school teacher from Mannford with 23 years of experience, said her family has suffered financially because of the sacrifices she is forced to make as a teacher in Oklahoma.

“This is enough,” she said. “If the Legislature will not do its job, I will walk.”

Earlier Thursday, state Superintendent of Schools Joy Hofmeister told the Board of Education that plans for a teacher walkout gained momentum since “plan after plan” to provide a raise failed in the Legislature.