Throwback Tulsa: Teachers rally at the Oklahoma Capitol and around the state in 2018
Six years ago, thousands of Oklahoma teachers swarmed the Capitol for what turned out to be the largest protest of state funding for public education in recent years. Thousands of Oklahoma teachers gathered at the state Capitol six years ago for the largest protest of state funding for public education in recent years, causing Tulsa-area districts to temporarily close. The two-week teacher walkout in April 2018 saw over 500,000 students, two-thirds of the state's student population, out of school for two weeks. The Oklahoma Legislature responded by passing teacher raises, bringing Oklahoma's teacher pay from 49th to 34th in the U.S. In the 2019 session, Oklahoma lawmakers are filing bills to crack down on statewide walkout methods.
Published : a month ago by Tulsa World Archive photos, mike simons in Politics
Six years ago, thousands of Oklahoma teachers swarmed the Capitol for what turned out to be the largest protest of state funding for public education in recent years.
The turnout caused Tulsa-area districts to temporarily close, including Bartlesville, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Catoosa, Claremore, Coweta, Glenpool, Jenks, Okmulgee, Owasso, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Skiatook and Wagoner.
At its peak, the two-week teacher walkout in April 2018 had more than 500,000 students out of school — about two-thirds of the state’s student population.
Under threat of a statewide teacher walkout, the Oklahoma Legislature in late March 2018 scrambled to pass teacher raises that worked out to about $6,100 more on average for the 2018-19 academic year. The raises brought Oklahoma's teacher pay from 49th to 34th in the U.S. In the 2019 session, Oklahoma lawmakers filed a host of bills seeking to crack down on the statewide walkout methods.