Arizona teachers to join walkout trend
PHOENIX — Arizona teachers have voted to walk off the job to demand increased school funding, marking a key step toward a first-ever statewide strike that builds on a movement for higher pay in other Republican-dominant states.
A grassroots group and the state’s largest teacher membership group said teachers will walk out on Thursday.
Arizona jumped into a movement for higher teacher pay that started in West Virginia, where a strike garnered a raise, and spread to Oklahoma, Kentucky and, most recently, Colorado.
Thursday’s vote followed weeks of protests in Arizona and an offer from Republican Gov. Doug Ducey to give teachers 20 percent raise by 2020. Many teachers kept up the pressure at schools and on social media, saying the plan failed to address much-needed funding for classrooms and support staff.
“The worst possible thing we could do is not take action right now,” said Noah Karvelis, an organizer for Arizona Educators United.
The historic vote was announced at a news conference at the Arizona Education Association headquarters. Around 78 percent of the 57,000 teachers voted in favor of the walkout, according to Joe Thomas, president of the association.
“This is undeniably, clearly, a mandate for action,” Thomas said.
The governor said “no one wants to see teachers strike” and reiterated his proposal on Twitter after the vote was announced.
“We have worked side by side with the education community to develop a sustainable plan to give teachers a 20 percent raise by 2020,” Ducey wrote.
Thomas said the governor’s plan was “falling apart as we speak,” adding that two letters asking the governor to sit down with educators have gone unanswered.
Ducey’s proposal drew support from the business community and some school organizations, but others were concerned about finding the money. The plan would cost about $650 million when fully implemented. Arizona teachers and education advocates protested at the Capitol in Phoenix on Wednesday.
The Arizona PTA pulled its support for the proposal, saying its analysis showed the finances were not realistic. An education advocacy group, Save Our Schools Arizona, said it’s worried the plan isn’t a “sustainable or comprehensive” way to reinvest in schools.
Legislative budget analysts this week predicted a $265 million deficit in 2020 if the governor’s plan is approved. Ducey’s office strongly disputes that analysis, saying much of the funding comes from revenue increases.