More urgent, more difficult

As Oklahoma teachers plan to follow West Virginia in walkout, they confront a worse funding crisis

For nine days, teachers in West Virginia went on strike to protest their low pay and benefits. The strike did not end until West Virginia Governor Jim Justice signed a bill providing a five percent raise for teachers and state employees.

Going into this showdown, the average teacher salary and benefits in West Virginia was $45,622, according to data from the National Education Association. That put them 48th in the nation, out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Teachers in West Virginia made less than teachers in all but three states: South Dakota, Mississippi, and … Oklahoma.

Gene Perry is Director of Strategy and Communication for Oklahoma Policy Institute Find the rest of this article and more at okpolicy.org.