Teachers in Oklahoma are planning to walk out of classrooms on Monday after lawmakers approved a pay increase measure that didn’t meet a teachers union’s demands.
Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican, signed House Bill 1010XX on Thursday, which she described as the “largest teacher pay raise in the history of the state” providing educators with a $6,100 pay raise along with other funding measures.
“This is a very historic moment in Oklahoma’s time,” Fallin said, according to CNN. “It was not easy getting here.”
But the Oklahoma Education Association still feels that the bill was “incomplete” and stands firm in its plan to walkout on Monday and head to the state Capitol.
“While this is major progress, this investment alone will not undo a decade of neglect,” union president Alicia Priest said. “Lawmakers have left funding on the table that could be used immediately to help Oklahoma students.”
Among the union’s demands are a restoration of hundreds of millions of dollars in public school funding that were cut from the state budget as well as healthcare funding.
Oklahoma City Public Schools have canceled classes and extracurricular activities on Monday in preparation for the strike.
Teachers in West Virginia led a similar movement earlier this month which resulted in lawmakers giving in to their demands and providing a statewide salary boost.
