Catherwood LibraryILR School

Oklahoma teachers have been on strike since Monday, with some making 110 mile walks to the state capital where substantial demonstrations have taken place, leaving half a million students out of school as they seek $200 million in increased funding to compensate for education cuts and low salaries. The Senate did pass an internet sales tax bill and a tribal gambling bill on Friday, but still left to deliberate are measures asking for a hotel lodging tax and a repeal of a capital gains income tax deduction; both face fierce opposition. Oklahoma elementary and high school teachers have the lowest median pay in the nation, and while they had received a $6000 increase in wages in a measure passed last week, they walked out on Monday, calling for $10,000 in increased wages over three years. The Oklahoma strike follows recent teacher strikes in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Arizona, and have accentuated teachers' increasing frustration with low salaries and education budgets. Although some teachers have returned to work, it is expected that the state’s two largest school districts will continue to be on strike next week.