Arizona teachers vote for statewide walkout to protest school funding

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 grass-roots group and the state’s largest teacher membership group said Thursday that teachers will walk out April 26.

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 muchneeded 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 Arizona Education Association.

“This is undeniably, clearly, a mandate for action,” Thomas said.

Arizona House Democratic Leader Rebecca Rios released a statement supporting the planned teacher walkout.

“The women and men who work so hard to educate our children at our neighborhood public schools have earned a meaningful and sustainable pay increase that’s based on a real revenue source, not smoke and mirrors,” Rios said. “We call on superintendents and school boards to support their teachers and support staff during this time.”

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,” and added that two letters asking the governor to sit down with educators have gone unanswered.