Kentucky, Oklahoma teachers join campaign for higher pay
The state Capitol in Kentucky filled with teachers protesting pension changes and demanding generous school funding Monday, and thousands of Oklahoma educators walked out of classrooms in the latest wave of teacher rebellion in some Republican-led states over education cuts.
The demonstrations were inspired by West Virginia, where teachers walked out for nine days this year and won a 5 percent increase in pay. Teachers in Arizona are also now considering a strike over their demands for a 20 percent salary increase.
“Their success has shown us that collective activity can work,” Kentucky teacher Corey Sayre said of the West Virginia walkout.
Many Oklahoma schools, including the three largest districts of Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Edmond, were closed Monday. Districts announced plans to keep campuses shut down into Tuesday with teacher demonstrations expected to last a second day.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation last week granting teachers pay raises of about $6,100, or 15 to 18 percent. But some educators say that isn’t good enough and walked out.
“If I didn’t have a second job, I’d be on food stamps,” said Rae Lovelace, a third-grade teacher at Leedey Public Schools in northwest Oklahoma who works 30 to 40 hours a week at a second job teaching online courses for a charter school.
The largest teachers union in Oklahoma has demanded a $10,000 pay raise for educators over three years, $5,000 for support personnel and a $75 million increase in funding this year. The pay hike lawmakers approved last week was the first Oklahoma teachers have seen in 10 years.
Oklahoma ranks 47th among states and the District of Columbia in public school revenue per student, nearly $3,000 below the national average, while its average teacher salary of $45,276 ranked 49th before the latest raises, according to the most recent statistics from the National Education Association.
In Frankfort, Ky., teachers and school employees gathered outside the Kentucky Education Association a couple of blocks from the Capitol, chanting “Stop the war on public education.”
“We’re madder than hornets, and the hornets are swarming today,” said Claudette Green, a retired teacher and principal.
Amid a chorus of chants from teachers rallying in the Capitol, Kentucky lawmakers considered a new state budget that includes higher spending for public education.
Budget negotiators unveiled a spending plan Monday that includes increased spending for the main funding formula for K-12 schools and restored money for school buses that the state’s Republican governor had proposed eliminating.