After rallies for teachers and a proposed walkout in April, Broken Arrow, Union, Owasso, Sapulpa and Bartlesville have joined list of schools throwing their support behind teachers; Tulsa Public Schools jumped on board with that this past weekend.
The Broken Arrow and Sapulpa boards of education met Monday night and gave the thumbs-up to teachers in their effort to secure a pay raise through legislation for years. Teachers have threatened to walk out on April 2 if the state legislature doesn't come through with and pass a plan that gets them their raises.
The Broken Arrow BOE passed a resolution Monday night that resolved that the board recognized the chronic underfunding of teachers and continued financial cuts in education, and having tried to get the raises their teachers deserve time and time again, it was time for the board to "implore the Oklahoma Legislature to find a dedicated source of revenue that can be utilized to fund a much needed, reoccurring salary increase" for teachers.
The Sapulpa BOE released the following statement: "Tonight, the Board of Education authorized Superintendent Rob Armstrong to close schools due to the walkout, if he deems it necessary. While we would ideally like to avoid any disruption of our school calendar, we are ready to support our teachers and support staff if they determine collectively that is what needs to happen. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and as announcements are made, we will make plans and communicate those to our parents and community."
The schools that have now gotten behind the teachers' movement include:
- Tulsa Public Schools
- Union
- Broken Arrow
- Owasso
- Sapulpa
- Bartlesville
- Coweta
- Mannford
- Oologah
- Salina
Claremore was expected to follow suit on Monday.
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