The Arizona Legislature has been shortchanging and devaluing public school educators and students for at least two decades.
The bill has finally come due. What seems like a whirlwind of public protests has been simmering for years, as educators waited — and waited — for the Legislature’s action to match lawmakers’ campaign rhetoric on supporting education.
They’ve reached a breaking point. And they’re right. Educators are taking a risk by walking out. We respect their fortitude and support their cause.
Thousands of Arizona educators walked off the job Thursday morning to protest their low pay, untenable working conditions and the state’s long-standing refusal to do what is necessary to adequately fund public schools while offering tax cuts to corporations.
In the Tucson area, all major school districts and some charter schools were closed Thursday and Friday because they didn't have enough staff at schools to safely supervise the students without teachers in the classroom.
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Flowing Wells, Tucson Unified and Sunnyside Unified districts will served meals at some schools. This is a public service, but of limited use to parents who can’t afford to take time away from their own jobs to accompany their children for breakfast or lunch.
Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican up for re-election, claims that the teachers are rejecting a “20 percent raise” he’s promised in response to rising protests over the past few weeks. His promise is only that — a promise, and one that was preceded by his repeated claims that Arizona could only afford to give teachers a 1 percent raise.
Ducey’s plan has about as much credibility as the old the-dog-ate-my-homework excuse.
Educators are absolutely right to be skeptical of Ducey. His promise is based on predictions that Arizona will bring in vastly more revenue in the next few years — in other words, IF the state ends up with more money, it will go to teachers.
One of the #RedForEd movement’s demands is to include all school-related staff under the umbrella of educators, and rightly so, as every person who is associated with school is part of the educational fabric for students.
The walkout will cause at least temporary hardship for families, especially those with lower incomes who can’t afford to stay home for at least two days, or send their kids to a recreational program. Community organizations and employers can help by offering safe places for school kids while schools are closed.
As the teachers have gained momentum, and public sympathy, in the run-up to the walkout, the inevitable backlash has begun. Many of the comments indicate a complete lack of understanding of education today, with claims that teachers watch kids for about six hours a day and vacation all summer.
A survey from Tucson Values Teachers and Expect More Arizona found that Arizona teachers work an average of 64.2 hours per week because in addition to classroom instruction, they usually have extra duties, like being a lunchroom monitor, plus grading, lesson-planning, counseling and individual instruction and meeting with parents and administrators.
Many educators also work second jobs in the summer, at night or on the weekends. A beginning teacher’s salary is in the low $30,000s in most districts, even with a master’s degree and certification; raises are usually small and sporadic.
It is shameful, yet predictable, that some Republican lawmakers are trying to tarnish the teachers and movement organizers, instead of helping to find a solution and end the standoff. For example, state Rep. Maria Syms, who represents Legislative District 28 in the Phoenix area, describes a #RedForEd organizer as leading teachers in an “anti-American socialist revolution.”
That’s ridiculous, and we must not allow distractions to trump the very real and very righteous cause of saving public education — and public educators — in Arizona.
