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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.
(Score: 5, Informative) by GreatOutdoors on Friday March 30 2018, @03:57PM (7 children)
I am familiar with the situation, and my girlfriend is a teacher. She has been teaching for 16 years and has only received two pay raises in that time. She still makes less than $35k per year, and on top of that, the state started increasing insurance fees at the start of Obamacare, so she is more in the hole now than when she started years ago. Her budget for the entire school year for her classroom is around $200. That doesn't even cover the cost of paper, so she spends another large chunk of her money and works a second job so that her kids can have school supplies.
On the politics side, the bill that was passed was based on fees that fluctuate often, so the income is not guaranteed. The fees also expire or are routed to a different place starting 1 year from now, so this was only a temporary attempt at a fix. Lastly, the increase in taxes, even if they were to stay, is not enough to cover the money that the schools need to operate.
I look forward to thoughtful discussion on the topic.
Yes, I did make a logical argument there. You should post a logical response.
(Score: 2) by fadrian on Friday March 30 2018, @04:21PM (1 child)
OK. I'll start the thoughtful discussion.
What can you say? Red states suck.
That is all.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @11:40PM
At least they are not Kansas. BTW, What's the Matter With Kansas? [amazon.com]
(Score: 2) by insanumingenium on Friday March 30 2018, @04:37PM (4 children)
I went to a mix of public school, and I heard this complaint if anything more in the schools that were in much better shape financially. I am not calling the teachers liars, rather I wonder if this complaint has become a badge of honor for teachers, one that generationally becomes a self sustaining shitstorm.
If you bail a sinking ship to keep an even keel, no one ever patches the hull.
It seems to me they stop, and if the practice is as widespread as is seemingly universally accepted, then it that would be more effective than any union strike. Angry parents and falling scores provide feedback that the school is failing, teacher isn't forced to eat instant ramen through no fault of their own. The children's education is already suffering from underfunding, even with teachers bailing, and strike days aren't going to make that better. Further, if you are at the point of striking, buying supplies is undermining your efforts twice.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @04:48PM (3 children)
Because 1) most teachers are decent people who don't want to make kids suffer just to make a point, and 2) if "angry parents and falling scores provide feedback that the school is failing", then the Republicans will say that the schools are failing so we should stop funding them at all.
It's the typical infinite loop of reduce funding -> things get worse -> point to things getting worse as a reason to further reduce funding. Also see: ACA, railroads, USPS...
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @05:11PM
Agree.
Also watch out for calls for teacher accountability. The one teacher who keeps buying supplies after the others stop is going to have the best metrics at accountability time. Then it's tragedy of the commons and we're right back where we started.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by insanumingenium on Friday March 30 2018, @05:20PM (1 child)
I suspect number one is the closest to the naked truth, but if they are going on strike they are totally willing to let the kids suffer, they are acknowledging that short term suffering beats long term insufficiency. Just because a strike works in coal mines doesn't mean it is the best way of manipulating the school system.
They may overhaul the system, but they can't simply discontinue public education, if that was an option the strike would fail and they would just send the teachers home for good and wash their hands of the mess. Notice how that was never even on the table.
You really want to generate change while still providing supplies for the kids, print communist, anti-theist, pro-abortion, etc... propaganda on the back of every page you pay for yourself. Make sure it is well known, that only the personally bought supplies would be tainted. They will use whatever methods they can to stop you from providing supplies after that. You don't have to go so obviously repugnant, advertise your side business as a sad clown. Or make it nationalist pride propaganda, nothing but presidential tweets, a covfefe on every page, dress it up in republican pride.
The point being, if you are going to rock the boat, stop actively calming it as well.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @05:36PM
Yeah, I'm not an expert in social sciences and/or economics, so I can't say if strike is going to help or not.
However, I'd say there is a difference both in length and in degree between not buying school supplies and a strike.
Strike will last for a few days, at worst weeks, and during that time kids either won't be going to school, or will spend their time at school playing. It's loud, it's obvious, and you know very quickly if it will work or not.
Not buying supplies would have to be sustained for years to have any impact, making the school experience actively worse for several generations of children.
If the strike lasts for longer than a few weeks, I believe the negative impact on kids will become too large. Since teachers are generally more decent people than politicians, it may be a completely viable approach to wait them out and, after they give up and get back to work, keep using their humanity against them.
As for your propaganda idea, that seems like the fastest way to turn most of the country against them, as well as get fired :/ I can imagine the Fox News/MSNBC headlines, and they are not pretty.