Oklahoma’s two largest school districts were closed Thursday for the ninth consecutive day because of a teacher strike. Oklahoma’s strike now matches the length of a walkout in West Virginia earlier this year. The strike in West Virginia started a rebellion of teachers in some Republican-led states.
Oklahoma City Public Schools, the state’s largest district, and Tulsa Public Schools, made the announcement yesterday Wednesday that they will remain closed today Thursday. Smaller schools districts were expected to resume classes Thursday.
Many Oklahoma school districts have canceled classes since April 2 when thousands of teachers traveled to the state Capitol demanding that lawmakers provide more tax dollars for classroom needs.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation last month granting teacher pay hikes of about 6-thousand 1-hundred-dollars and providing tens of millions of new dollars for public schools. But teachers demand more.
Teachers’ union leaders have not indicated when they expect demonstrations to end, but the number of protesters has dwindled, and Republican legislative leaders say they don’t plan to consider more bills to raise more revenue.
The 2018 West Virginia teacher strike earned international attention. In the weeks following the strike’s end, The Charleston Gazette-Mail began a multi-media project to capture the strike using crowd sourcing and staff reporting.
In collaboration with West Virginia Public Broadcasting and documentary filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon, the Gazette-Mail produced a two part video series about the strike.
The series takes a look at how the strike unfolded, using video and photographs by staff photographers and video feature producers, and a host of photographs and videos shot by participants and onlookers of the nine-day strike that lasted from Feb. 22 through March 6.
Hundreds of teachers crammed into the Oklahoma Capitol for a second day Tuesday, April 4, to press demands for additional funding for the state’s public schools, and many of those schools remained closed amid a rebellion that has hit several Republican-led states across the country.
Rowdy teachers booed lawmakers in the when the Oklahoma House adjourned. House officials initially called on state troopers to clear the gallery of protesting teachers but later backed off. Education advocates filled the Capitol to capacity, and troopers limited access to the building.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation last week granting 15 to 18 percent higher salaries to teachers. But some educators — who haven’t seen a pay increase in 10 years — say that isn’t good enough and walked out.
“If I didn’t have a second job, I’d be on food stamps,” said Rae Lovelace, a single mom and a third-grade teacher at Leedey Public Schools in northwest Oklahoma who works 30 to 40 hours a week at a second job teaching online courses for a charter school.
Oklahoma’s three largest school districts, Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Edmond, remained closed Tuesday to honor the walkout. Some schools are offering free meals to students aged 18 or younger, while various churches, faith organizations and charitable agencies are providing free day-care services. Spring break was last week in many Oklahoma districts.
Fallin warned Monday that the state budget is tight and there are other critical needs besides education.
“We must be responsible not to neglect other areas of need in the state, such as corrections and health and human services, as we continue to consider additional education funding measures,” the Republican said.
But Democratic lawmaker Collin Walke said teachers should keep up the pressure. Two separate bills pending in the Legislature to expand tribal gambling and eliminate the income tax deduction for capital gains could generate more than $100 million in additional funding each year.
“I think the Republican strategy is to wait the teachers out,” Walke said.
Oklahoma ranks 47th among states and the District of Columbia in public school revenue per student while its average teacher salary of $45,276 ranked 49th before the latest raises, according to the most recent statistics from the National Education Association.
The demonstrations were inspired by West Virginia, where teachers walked out for nine days earlier this year and won a 5 percent increase in pay. Teachers in Arizona are now considering a strike over their demands for a 20 percent salary increase.
In Frankfort, Kentucky, teachers and other school employees chanted “Stop the war on public education,” during a rally at the Capitol Monday.
“We’re madder than hornets, and the hornets are swarming today,” said Claudette Green, a retired teacher and principal.
Schools across Kentucky were closed, due either to spring break or to allow teachers and other school employees to attend the rally.
Amid a chorus of chants from teachers, Kentucky lawmakers considered a new state budget that includes higher spending for public education.
Budget negotiators unveiled a spending plan Monday that includes increased spending for the main funding formula for K-12 schools to be paid for by a 6 percent sales tax on a host of services that had previously been tax-free.
The Kentucky teachers are mad because Republican lawmakers passed a pension overhaul last week that cuts benefits for new teachers. Opponents objected that the pension changes were inserted into an unrelated bill without a chance for public input, and worry that the changes will discourage young people from joining the profession.
Republican Gov. Matt Bevin has not yet signed the bill, but last week tweeted his support, saying public workers owe “a deep debt of gratitude” to lawmakers who voted to pass it.
During Monday’s rally, some teachers, angry at lawmakers who supported the bill, chanted “Vote them out.”
Melissa Wash, a first-grade teacher form Gallatin County who has been teaching for 19 years, said she voted for Bevin, but now plans to become a Democrat. To the lawmakers who voted for the pension overhaul, she said: “You better not count on another year in office.”
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Associated Press writers and Bruce Schreiner reported from Frankfort, Kentucky, and Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico, contributed to this report.
The nine-day teachers’ strike in West Virginia made headlines across the country, and some are wondering what the events mean for state’s political landscape. How did a widespread labor strike, a practice normally associated with Democrats, happen in a state that voted so heavily for Donald Trump?
We wanted to take a step back to explore how politics have been changing here over the past generation. West Virginia has been dubbed the heart of Trump Country, but politics here are anything but straightforward.
The strike wasn’t organized solely by Democrats or Republicans, or even union bosses. But some, like Angela Nottingham, a seventh grade social studies teacher from Cabell County, said the action changed how they plan to vote this year. Nottingham said she switched from Independent to Democrat after watching some Senate Republicans fight against the pay increase teachers were demanding.
“I know there are a lot of people out there that are Republican and kind of vote with their party. I think a lot of people are gonna look back at who supported them. And I really do think they, and the people around them, and the people they influence, will vote for the people who helped us out,” Nottingham said.
In 2016, President Trump received nearly 70 percent of votes cast in West Virginia.
Credit Kara Lofton/ WVPB
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woman attending protests at state capitol on March 6 to rally for teacher raises in W.Va.
West Virginia has a Republican governor, and Republicans control both houses of the state Legislature.
And yet, more voters in the state are registered as Democrats than Republicans. In Wyoming County, for example, President Trump won 83 percent of votes, even though more than twice as many voters in this county are registered as Democrats, compared with Republicans.
Could Democrats gain back some ground in the Mountain State?
With the midterm election around the corner, we wanted to get a sense of where we’re headed, so West Virginia Public Broadcasting polled more than 900 teachers and school personnel in an anonymous, online survey. This was not a scientific poll designed by statisticians, but it did give us some interesting insights.
About half of the teachers we surveyed said they identify as Democrats, while nearly 30 percent said they are Republicans. A majority said they voted for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders as their first choice for president in 2016.
A majority (36 percent) said they plan to re-elect U.S. Senator Joe Manchin. An overwhelming majority (97 percent) of those who live in the state’s Third Congressional District in southern West Virginia — the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins, a Republican — said they plan to vote for Richard Ojeda.
Both Ojeda, who’s currently serving in the state Senate, and Manchin are Democrats. That is, West Virginia’s version of a Democrat.
A Different Kind of Democrat
Democrats in West Virginia held the majority in the state Legislature for more than 80 years. More than half of our governors have been Democrats. But, as political science professor Rob Rupp explained, the Democrats in the Mountain State have traditionally been a populist party, pro-labor and socially conservative.
Rupp, a professor at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, posited that three are three political parties in America: Republican, Democrat and West Virginia Democrat.
“And by that I mean you have kind of a hybrid party, a big tent where conservatives, moderates and liberals all joined,” unique to West Virginia.
Rupp has spent most of his career studying what he called “West Virginia’s slow motion realignment towards the red” in this state, and he said that shift has been happening for a long time. But, he argued, it rose to the surface about 15 years ago. President Bill Clinton was fairly popular here, but Democrats on the national stage since have failed to resonate with voters in this pro-coal state.
“And now [Democrats] are realizing that to many West Virginia voters, the national Democratic Party is out of touch with the state voters,” Rupp said.
This shift didn’t happen overnight. Rupp and other political scientists said one reason for the change is the declining power of unions. Labor has had a strong influence on politics here since the 1930s, and labor unions have typically sided with Democrats.
But in West Virginia, Democrats are far more conservative than the national party: They’re pro-coal, and they usually side with conservatives on social issues, like gay rights, abortion and immigration.
Rupp said now we’re seeing the breakup of that hybrid, West Virginia-style Democrat, a change that could have national implications. West Virginia may be a bellwether for rural America, and for the national Democratic party.
“And now with the loss of power was seeing a struggle between, should the Democratic Party turn left or should it turn right, now that it suddenly finds himself in minority.”
But with the recent teachers’ strike, some people are wondering if the Democrats, could stand a chance of regaining power in West Virginia. And what kind of Democrats could get elected? Ones that lean progressive? Or will they need to look more like the West Virginia Democrats of the past?
One example of the traditional-style West Virginia Democrat is state Senator Richard Ojeda. He’s running for Congress in southern West Virginia and he says he voted for Trump, but he’s been disappointed by the President’s performance. He strongly supports labor unions, and was one of the teachers’ loudest supporters during the recent strike.
But if Democrats like Ojeda want to take back power in West Virginia and across Appalachia, they’ll have to figure out one big question: how to bring back jobs to coal country.
Former coal miner Nick Mullins, who blogs at The Thoughtful Coal Miner, said liberals haven’t done enough during the past decade to appeal to working class voters in Appalachia.
“To be frank and honest [Democrats] need to come off of their moral high horses and come back down to the level of the working class,” said Mullins, a registered Independent from southwest Virginia, who said he didn’t vote in the November 2016 election.
“The working class needs help. We’re facing longer hours or stagnant wages. People aren’t enjoying life right now because they’re having to work so hard and long to just have a little bit of happiness in their lives.”
The Charleston Gazette-Mail, in collaboration with West Virginia Public Broadcasting and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon, is producing a crowd-sourced mini-documentary on the just-completed West Virginia teacher strike.
We are looking for photos, short smartphone or camera videos and Facebook Live and Twitter videos from those who participated in the strike or recorded pieces of it. We are looking for content from all days of the strike, including the celebration at the Capitol the day it was resolved.
What to submit:
Photos: We want to see your top 5 images (maximum)
Videos: Share a short video clip taken on your phone or camera (max 2 minutes or 100 MB in size)
Links: Share your social media links to any Youtube videos, Facebook Live videos or Facebook and Twitter accounts where you uploaded videos. Also send iconic Tweets or Tweetstorms from the strike.
How to submit:
Photos and links can be emailed to social@wvgazettemail.com. Please include your name, phone and e-mail and the date you recorded your material in the email.
Videos and photos can be uploaded to Dropbox. Please rename your files to include your name (for example: SallyHawkins1.jpg, SallyHawkins2.mov). Visit this web address to upload files: dropbox.com/request/No8oPv7wr0QO5xCdKoLj. Our Dropbox will only accept video files that are 100 MB or less, or two minutes long. Send us a link if it’s a larger file. And even if you use Dropbox, email us at social@wvgazettemail.com with your name, contact info and the date your material was recorded.
If you can’t figure out how to get your stuff off your phone, email douglas@wvgazette.com or call 304-348-3017 and arrange to bring your phone/camera to us at the Gazette-Mail’s building at 1001 Virginia St. E. in Charleston, and we’ll get the material off your device.
Now that teachers and other school employees across West Virginia have returned to the classroom, lawmakers are turning their attention to the budget to pay for 5 percent raises for educators, service personnel – and the salary hike promised for all public employees.
Those in negotiations with Gov. Jim Justice’s office agreed to cut proposed funding to various programs, according to Senate President Mitch Carmichael’s office. The cuts include the governor’s proposed increases to tourism, general services and the state commerce department. Carmichael said Wednesday that Medicaid would likely also take a funding hit.
Those decreases to the budget result from Senate Republicans’ skepticism of Justice’s assurance that the state is expected to take in $58 million more this coming fiscal year. Majority leadership have said that some of the funding to slashed programs would be reinstated if the governor’s revenue projections ring true.
A committee amendment to the Senate’s version of the budget, Senate Bill 152, reflects the negotiated funding changes to accommodate pay raises for all state employees.
Both House and Senate versions of the budget are scheduled to go up for passage Thursday.
