Oregon as teachers walk out for more funding
PORTLAND, Ore. • Tens of thousands of teachers across Oregon walked off the job Wednesday to demand more money for schools, holding signs and wearing red shirts that have become synonymous with a nationwide movement pushing lawmakers to better fund education.
Schools around the state, including Oregon’s largest district, Portland Public Schools, planned to close for part of the day. An estimated 20,000 people massed in a downtown Portland park for a rally before beginning a march through the city. The demonstrators — a mix of teachers, parents and students — wore red to support the “Red for Ed” campaign that’s taken hold nationwide and chanted that slogan.
They called on state lawmakers to expand school funding in Oregon, which has some of the largest class sizes and lowest graduation rates in the United States.
The action follows a wave of teacher activism that began in West Virginia in 2018 and was followed by Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona and elsewhere.
Teachers in North Carolina and South Carolina rallied at their respective state capitols last week seeking more money.
Unlike other states, Oregon teachers say they’re not pushing for pay raises or other union demands. They say they’re walking out to highlight the conditions inside the classroom and how years of low funding has affected learning opportunities.
Teachers in Woodburn say they need more counselors and support staffers to respond to the increasing number of students displaying complex behavioral problems. A third of students are English language learners and more than 40% of families rely on food stamps in the town about 30 miles south of Portland.
In this April 10, 2019 photo educators from across the metro are gathered at Pioneer Courthouse Square to press the Oregon Legislature for more school funding. Tens of thousands of teachers are expected to walk out across Oregon this week, adding to the string of nationwide protests over class sizes and education funding. Schools around the state, including Oregon’s largest district, Portland Public Schools, will close for at least part of Wednesday, May 8, 2019 as educators press for more money from lawmakers. (Mark Graves/The Oregonian via AP)
