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
Educators in Arizona plan to stage walkouts starting next Thursday to protest chronically low teacher salaries and school funding cuts in the state. (Photo: @TheHill/Twitter)
Demanding Arizona Put Schools Over Corporate Tax Cuts, Teachers Approve Statewide Strike
"After years of starving our schools, some classes are stuffed with kids, while others sit empty because there isn't a teacher to teach."
Apr 20, 2018
After an overwhelming majority of teachers in Arizona voted on Thursday night to approve a strike over chronically low teacher salaries and harsh austerity measures that have left the state's public schools struggling, Arizona is poised to become the latest Republican-controlled state to see educators standing up for labor and children's rights.
The Arizona Education Association (AEA) said that 78 percent of the 57,000 teachers who voted support a walkout that would take place next week.
"After years of starving our schools, some classes are stuffed with kids, while others sit empty because there isn't a teacher to teach," said Noah Karvelis, an elementary school music instructor who has organized the teachers' movement through the grassroots group Arizona Educators United (AEU). "The #RedforEd movement has provided educators the opportunity to voice what action they want to take in an historic statewide vote."
Karvelis spoke along with AEA President Joe Thomas after the vote:
The walkout will begin on April 26 and will follow "walk-ins" that have been held across the state in recent weeks outside of school hours, in which teachers have joined with parents, students, and community members to protest funding shortages.
The educators are demanding a 20 percent raise for teachers and certified support staff, noting that the state's average teacher salary is $46,949 according to the Arizona School Boards Association. They also want school funding to return to its pre-2008 level--the state cut its per student spending by 23.3 percent after the recession--and an end to tax cuts until school funding reaches the national average.
Meanwhile, legislative analysts said late last year that a new round of corporate tax cuts would leave the state $100 million short in 2018, unless spending was cut.
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey offered a 20 percent pay raise to teachers earlier this month--but teachers' groups refused to back it when it became clear that Ducey had no sustainable plan to fund the raises, and that it would cut services for universities, Medicaid, and those with developmental disabilities.
"We can't take from one pot to give to another pot," Democratic state Rep. Reginald Bolding told AZFamily.com. "Universities, they need funds. Developmentally disabled, they need funds. Hospitals need funds. People on Medicaid need funds. We have to raise revenue."
Beth Simek, president of the Arizona PTA, urged the governor to "find a sustainable, permanent funding source that does not hurt others in the process."
States including West Virginia, Kentucky, and Oklahoma have all made headlines in recent weeks with schools across the states closing for days at a time as teachers demanded more funding for education.
"As educators, the students are at the center of everything we do. Every student deserves a chance at a quality education, and access to services like nutrition, health, and after school programs," said the AEA on Thursday.
"Education isn't just a job, it's a calling. That's why we're walking out," added Karvelis.
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.
After an overwhelming majority of teachers in Arizona voted on Thursday night to approve a strike over chronically low teacher salaries and harsh austerity measures that have left the state's public schools struggling, Arizona is poised to become the latest Republican-controlled state to see educators standing up for labor and children's rights.
The Arizona Education Association (AEA) said that 78 percent of the 57,000 teachers who voted support a walkout that would take place next week.
"After years of starving our schools, some classes are stuffed with kids, while others sit empty because there isn't a teacher to teach," said Noah Karvelis, an elementary school music instructor who has organized the teachers' movement through the grassroots group Arizona Educators United (AEU). "The #RedforEd movement has provided educators the opportunity to voice what action they want to take in an historic statewide vote."
Karvelis spoke along with AEA President Joe Thomas after the vote:
The walkout will begin on April 26 and will follow "walk-ins" that have been held across the state in recent weeks outside of school hours, in which teachers have joined with parents, students, and community members to protest funding shortages.
The educators are demanding a 20 percent raise for teachers and certified support staff, noting that the state's average teacher salary is $46,949 according to the Arizona School Boards Association. They also want school funding to return to its pre-2008 level--the state cut its per student spending by 23.3 percent after the recession--and an end to tax cuts until school funding reaches the national average.
Meanwhile, legislative analysts said late last year that a new round of corporate tax cuts would leave the state $100 million short in 2018, unless spending was cut.
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey offered a 20 percent pay raise to teachers earlier this month--but teachers' groups refused to back it when it became clear that Ducey had no sustainable plan to fund the raises, and that it would cut services for universities, Medicaid, and those with developmental disabilities.
"We can't take from one pot to give to another pot," Democratic state Rep. Reginald Bolding told AZFamily.com. "Universities, they need funds. Developmentally disabled, they need funds. Hospitals need funds. People on Medicaid need funds. We have to raise revenue."
Beth Simek, president of the Arizona PTA, urged the governor to "find a sustainable, permanent funding source that does not hurt others in the process."
States including West Virginia, Kentucky, and Oklahoma have all made headlines in recent weeks with schools across the states closing for days at a time as teachers demanded more funding for education.
"As educators, the students are at the center of everything we do. Every student deserves a chance at a quality education, and access to services like nutrition, health, and after school programs," said the AEA on Thursday.
"Education isn't just a job, it's a calling. That's why we're walking out," added Karvelis.
After an overwhelming majority of teachers in Arizona voted on Thursday night to approve a strike over chronically low teacher salaries and harsh austerity measures that have left the state's public schools struggling, Arizona is poised to become the latest Republican-controlled state to see educators standing up for labor and children's rights.
The Arizona Education Association (AEA) said that 78 percent of the 57,000 teachers who voted support a walkout that would take place next week.
"After years of starving our schools, some classes are stuffed with kids, while others sit empty because there isn't a teacher to teach," said Noah Karvelis, an elementary school music instructor who has organized the teachers' movement through the grassroots group Arizona Educators United (AEU). "The #RedforEd movement has provided educators the opportunity to voice what action they want to take in an historic statewide vote."
Karvelis spoke along with AEA President Joe Thomas after the vote:
The walkout will begin on April 26 and will follow "walk-ins" that have been held across the state in recent weeks outside of school hours, in which teachers have joined with parents, students, and community members to protest funding shortages.
The educators are demanding a 20 percent raise for teachers and certified support staff, noting that the state's average teacher salary is $46,949 according to the Arizona School Boards Association. They also want school funding to return to its pre-2008 level--the state cut its per student spending by 23.3 percent after the recession--and an end to tax cuts until school funding reaches the national average.
Meanwhile, legislative analysts said late last year that a new round of corporate tax cuts would leave the state $100 million short in 2018, unless spending was cut.
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey offered a 20 percent pay raise to teachers earlier this month--but teachers' groups refused to back it when it became clear that Ducey had no sustainable plan to fund the raises, and that it would cut services for universities, Medicaid, and those with developmental disabilities.
"We can't take from one pot to give to another pot," Democratic state Rep. Reginald Bolding told AZFamily.com. "Universities, they need funds. Developmentally disabled, they need funds. Hospitals need funds. People on Medicaid need funds. We have to raise revenue."
Beth Simek, president of the Arizona PTA, urged the governor to "find a sustainable, permanent funding source that does not hurt others in the process."
States including West Virginia, Kentucky, and Oklahoma have all made headlines in recent weeks with schools across the states closing for days at a time as teachers demanded more funding for education.
"As educators, the students are at the center of everything we do. Every student deserves a chance at a quality education, and access to services like nutrition, health, and after school programs," said the AEA on Thursday.
"Education isn't just a job, it's a calling. That's why we're walking out," added Karvelis.
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.