On Monday, tens of thousands of teachers across Oklahoma and Kentucky marched out of their classrooms with a firm destination in mind: their respective state capitol buildings. Teachers in Oklahoma, Kentucky and Arizona were recently inspired by West Virginian teachers to go on strike demanding higher pay wages, CNN reports. The walkouts have caused mass school closings.
Oklahoman teachers received a state-mandated pay raise on Thursday, something that hadn't happened in over a decade. And some, including Governor Mary Fallin, hoped the raise would deter the looming strike.
.@GovMaryFallin on whether the pay raise will be enough to stave off the teacher walkout: “That'll be up to the teachers, but I hope they can come up here and say 'thank you' on Monday and go back to the classrooms.” #okleg #oklaed pic.twitter.com/V9Ocz9BBcC— Oklahoma Watch (@OklahomaWatch) March 29, 2018
But the raise was not enough.
"I always respected the field and I never looked at how much educators were actually paid," said Dr. Christina Kirk, a middle school teacher in Oklahoma, via the BBC. "It never dawned on me that it wasn't sustainable income … and that it wasn't, basically, a livable wage for a family." Kirk also serves as a judge in order to make ends meet.
Other teachers said the strike was about more than wages.
"This isn't just about teacher salaries," noted David DuVall, executive director of the Oklahoma Education Association. "This is about funding our schools for our students."
"The worst I've seen is 40 special ed students in one classroom," said Jennifer Thornton, a third grade teacher from Tulsa, Oklahoma. "We don't have enough adults in the building to keep the number of students we have safe or still learning."
At the Kentucky demonstration, teachers chanted, "Stop the war on public education!"
Kentucky teachers assembled at the State Capitol. They're fuming over a pension reform bill and demanding lawmakers improve public school funding. "#120strong" is their chant. pic.twitter.com/PKmVRZCNIU— Polo Sandoval (@PoloSandovalCNN) April 2, 2018
Sarah Drake, an 8th grade teacher in Marlow, Oklahoma says some school districts in the state have gone to 4-day work weeks because “the schools can’t afford to keep the lights on.” Also, “so teachers can work extra jobs.” #OKWalk4Kids pic.twitter.com/pS1gWnKWVb— Nick Valencia (@CNNValencia) April 2, 2018
A new Kentucky state legislature bill recently passed that keeps public school teachers’ annual cost of living adjustment at 1.5 percent. Inflation is, on average, four percent per year.
The new bill also gives teachers a limited number of sick days that can go toward their retirement and creates a new hybrid cash balance plan for new hires. Kentucky teachers are calling the changes in their pension plans a "bait-and-switch."
"Instead of finding logical sources for funding, they just want to cut and take away. And it's awful, because our kids deserve better. Our state deserves better," said first-year teacher Diane Young, who calls the lack of funding "an outright assault on public education."
It is unclear at this time how long the walkouts will last.
You can view live footage of the Oklahoma protest via CNN below.
