Okla. teachers to keep pushing

Classes to remain closed Monday amid protests at capital

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma teachers plan to continue massive demonstrations at the state Capitol to keep the pressure on lawmakers to find more money for public education.

Classes were canceled at some of the state’s largest school districts last week and will remain closed Monday as thousands of educators, students and their supporters keep up the protest.

Educators in Oklahoma — among the lowest-paid in the nation — have joined a rebellion in several Republican-led states. A strike by West Virginia teachers inspired the movement, which also spread to Kentucky and Arizona.

GOP Gov. Mary Fallin in late March signed off on the state’s first teacher pay increase since 2007, giving them a boost of about $6,100 a year.

But leaders of the state’s largest teachers union say that’s not enough.

Oklahoma Education Association President Alicia Priest on Friday demanded that lawmakers pass a repeal of a capital gains tax exemption and called on Fallin to veto a repeal of a proposed lodging tax.

The $5-per-night lodging tax would generate about $50 million annually but has faced fierce opposition from business interests and the hospitality industry. Axing the capital gains tax deduction would generate about $120 million annually.

Oklahoma Republicans have struggled to get the three-fourth’s majority needed to pass tax increases, but they finally pushed through hikes on cigarettes, fuel and oil and gas production to fund the teacher pay increases.

Conservative lawmakers who went against the party orthodoxy in voting for higher taxes expected thanks, but instead teachers walked out anyway.

Fallin appeared to reflect their frustration during an interview that drew further ire.

“Teachers want more, but it’s kind of like having a teenage kid that wants a better car,” Fallin said on CBS News.