Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Friday March 30 2018, @12:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the increasing-cost-of-living dept.

Common Dreams reports

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 [March 28] 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.[1] "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.

[...] "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."

[1] Content is behind scripts.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @03:22PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @03:22PM (#660402)

    It should be noted that the average U.S. IQ is propped up by the over-representation of very smart people who have moved to the U.S. to live, and who reproduce more very intelligent people there.

    While those smart people lift the average IQ in the U.S., they do not make any smarter the rest of America, which has huge variations in demographics. That is in contrast to Finland, where everyone is basically the same person.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   -1  
       Troll=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Troll' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   -1  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @05:55PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @05:55PM (#660453)

    Geez, you should get a doctorate in bullshitology. And users around here wonder why liberals freak out about the possibility of literal nazis existing in the US.