Protesting Oklahoma teachers descended on the state capitol in Oklahoma City Tuesday, prompting the legislature to adjourn for the day.
Still, many of the teachers remained to stage a sit-in, following similar protests in Kentucky on Monday.
The protests were the latest in a string of walkouts by teachers across the nation. A nine-day walkout by West Virginia teachers that started Feb. 22 forced the legislature to give them an additional 5 percent pay raise. A possible teacher strike is looming next week in Arizona as well.
The teachers say they are fed up with long-stagnant wages and the possibility of pension cuts in the future. The incidents have happened in traditionally conservative, red states largely unfamiliar with such protests and have followed legislatures’ efforts to keep state budgets tight and taxes low, suggesting ground-level shifts in the politics.
“Second day at OK Capitol. Capital gains tax is our target today. Teachers are not amused and we’re coming inside,” tweeted Liz Leonard, a high school teacher and one of the Oklahoma City protesters.
The Oklahoma teachers protested although Republican Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation last week that increased the state education budget by $500 million and increased average teacher pay by $6,100.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister credited the striking teachers for getting the raise, calling it “the culmination of the hard work and tireless advocacy of educators, parents and community leaders.”
The teachers turned out in force, anyway, saying the budget still wasn’t enough to properly fund the schools. Teachers said they often have to pay for basic supplies themselves.
“We appreciate the raise we received, but we’re now here to fight for our students and our kids,” Sarah Shriver, a kindergarten teacher at Mustang Trails Elementary School, told the Oklahoman.
Some lawmakers expressed frustration. Kevin McDugle, R- Wagoner, said he had voted for the raise but would not back anything further. “I’m not voting for another stinkin’ measure when they’re actin’ the way they’re actin’,” he said on Facebook Live.
Monday’s protests in Kentucky came days after the Republican-led legislature passed a bill that ended a pension plan for newly hired teachers teachers but left existing plans untouched. The legislation was rushed through, having been attached to an unrelated bill on sewage. The teachers expressed outrage, saying it would dissuade people from entering the profession.
An estimated 3,000 protesters clad in red appeared at the Kentucky capitol in Frankfort. “We want to see them come out. We want them to see us face to face,” Teresa Gleisener, a retired Laurel County teacher, told the Louisville Courier Journal. The crowd was about 10 times larger than the one that followed the bill’s passage on Friday.
Arizonans may see similar protests in the coming days. Thousands of teachers flooded the state capitol last week. And they are expected to stage “walk-ins” next week at schools across the state where they will stand outside the school in protest.
The state branch of the National Education Association says that Arizona has the lowest paid teachers in the nation, averaging $48,000 annually, while the national average is $58,000. The teachers want a 20 percent raise and for school funding to be returned to 2008 levels.
“Teachers are getting desperate, they’ve had enough. They don’t feel like they’re being heard,” Beth Lewis, a teacher and the chairwoman of Save Our Schools Arizona, told Phoenix-based KTAR news.
