Ariz. teachers protest at schools

Grass-roots group demands raises, education funding

PHOENIX — Thousands of Arizona teachers gathered outside their schools Wednesday wearing red shirts, chanting and carrying protest signs to show solidarity in their demand for higher salaries and better overall school funding from the state.

They gathered before classes started for “walk-ins” that were planned at approximately 1,000 schools statewide as part of a grass-roots movement pushing for a 20 percent raise and more than $1 billion in new education funding. Arizona’s demonstration is part of a wave of educators demanding higher pay that started in West Virginia where teachers successfully won a 5 percent raise after a statewide strike.

Oklahoma teachers have walked out in protest over education funding, and Kentucky educators called in sick to protest pension reform. Arizona teachers are considering a strike.

The Arizona protests came a day after Republican Gov. Doug Ducey defended his school funding plan and called talk of a teacher strike a partisan ploy. Ducey, who is up for re-election, has been touting increases to education funding during his three years in office and his promise of a 1 percent teacher raise and $100 million in funding for districts this year as a start to restoring nearly $400 million in cuts.

“What I’ve heard from teachers is that they don’t want to walk out — they want to solve this problem,” he said on KTAR radio Tuesday evening. “And I’ll tell you the people that are playing politics, they want to walk out.”

The grass-roots group Arizona Educators United has mobilized teachers and supporters across the state through their #Redfored campaign. In addition to a 20 percent pay bump, they’re seeking increased pay for support professionals, a permanent raise structure, and a freeze on corporate tax cuts until per-pupil spending reaches the national average.