SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Teachers at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma demanded funding for education across the state on Wednesday as lawmakers debated a bill to raise taxes in order to give educators their first raise in a decade. (Photo: Tara Nedrow/Facebook)
Oklahoma Teachers Win Pay Raise, But Say Strike Will Proceed to Challenge 'Decade of Neglect'
"There is still work to do to get this legislature to invest more in our classrooms. That work will continue Monday when educators descend on the Capitol."
Mar 29, 2018
Teachers in Oklahoma applauded the state Senate's passage of a $447 million bill to fund educators' first raise in a decade by raising taxes on oil and gas production as well as cigarettes and fuel--but warned that the plan is not enough to keep them from striking.
The proposal was approved in a 36-10 vote on Wednesday night after weeks of speculation that teachers would stage a walkout beginning April 2 to demand salary increases as well as more funding for their overcrowded schools--where teachers are frequently forced to pay for supplies out of their own pockets.
"While this is major progress, this investment alone will not undo a decade of neglect," said Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) President Alicia Priest in a press release. "Lawmakers have left funding on the table that could be used immediately to help Oklahoma students."
The mobilization by teachers in Oklahoma follows a multi-day strike in West Virginia earlier this month during which educators and school employees also occupied the state capitol to demand raises and a permanent funding solution for their health insurance program. The West Virginia strike kept the state's schools closed for nine consecutive school days and continued after lawmakers passed a one-time five percent raise, with teachers insisting that all their demands be met.
"Lawmakers have left funding on the table that could be used immediately to help Oklahoma students." --Alicia Priest, OEALike West Virginia's educators, Oklahoma's largest teacher's union said Thursday that the legislature's offer of a $6,000 raise was not enough to keep them from striking.
"This package doesn't overcome shortfall caused by four-day weeks, overcrowded classrooms that deprive kids of the one-on-one attention they need. It's not enough," Priest said. "We must continue to push for more annual funding for our schools to reduce class size and restore more of the 28 percent of funds they cut from education over the last decade."
"There is still work to do to get this legislature to invest more in our classrooms. That work will continue Monday when educators descend on the Capitol," read the OEA's press release.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Teachers in Oklahoma applauded the state Senate's passage of a $447 million bill to fund educators' first raise in a decade by raising taxes on oil and gas production as well as cigarettes and fuel--but warned that the plan is not enough to keep them from striking.
The proposal was approved in a 36-10 vote on Wednesday night after weeks of speculation that teachers would stage a walkout beginning April 2 to demand salary increases as well as more funding for their overcrowded schools--where teachers are frequently forced to pay for supplies out of their own pockets.
"While this is major progress, this investment alone will not undo a decade of neglect," said Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) President Alicia Priest in a press release. "Lawmakers have left funding on the table that could be used immediately to help Oklahoma students."
The mobilization by teachers in Oklahoma follows a multi-day strike in West Virginia earlier this month during which educators and school employees also occupied the state capitol to demand raises and a permanent funding solution for their health insurance program. The West Virginia strike kept the state's schools closed for nine consecutive school days and continued after lawmakers passed a one-time five percent raise, with teachers insisting that all their demands be met.
"Lawmakers have left funding on the table that could be used immediately to help Oklahoma students." --Alicia Priest, OEALike West Virginia's educators, Oklahoma's largest teacher's union said Thursday that the legislature's offer of a $6,000 raise was not enough to keep them from striking.
"This package doesn't overcome shortfall caused by four-day weeks, overcrowded classrooms that deprive kids of the one-on-one attention they need. It's not enough," Priest said. "We must continue to push for more annual funding for our schools to reduce class size and restore more of the 28 percent of funds they cut from education over the last decade."
"There is still work to do to get this legislature to invest more in our classrooms. That work will continue Monday when educators descend on the Capitol," read the OEA's press release.
Teachers in Oklahoma applauded the state Senate's passage of a $447 million bill to fund educators' first raise in a decade by raising taxes on oil and gas production as well as cigarettes and fuel--but warned that the plan is not enough to keep them from striking.
The proposal was approved in a 36-10 vote on Wednesday night after weeks of speculation that teachers would stage a walkout beginning April 2 to demand salary increases as well as more funding for their overcrowded schools--where teachers are frequently forced to pay for supplies out of their own pockets.
"While this is major progress, this investment alone will not undo a decade of neglect," said Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) President Alicia Priest in a press release. "Lawmakers have left funding on the table that could be used immediately to help Oklahoma students."
The mobilization by teachers in Oklahoma follows a multi-day strike in West Virginia earlier this month during which educators and school employees also occupied the state capitol to demand raises and a permanent funding solution for their health insurance program. The West Virginia strike kept the state's schools closed for nine consecutive school days and continued after lawmakers passed a one-time five percent raise, with teachers insisting that all their demands be met.
"Lawmakers have left funding on the table that could be used immediately to help Oklahoma students." --Alicia Priest, OEALike West Virginia's educators, Oklahoma's largest teacher's union said Thursday that the legislature's offer of a $6,000 raise was not enough to keep them from striking.
"This package doesn't overcome shortfall caused by four-day weeks, overcrowded classrooms that deprive kids of the one-on-one attention they need. It's not enough," Priest said. "We must continue to push for more annual funding for our schools to reduce class size and restore more of the 28 percent of funds they cut from education over the last decade."
"There is still work to do to get this legislature to invest more in our classrooms. That work will continue Monday when educators descend on the Capitol," read the OEA's press release.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.