All of West Virginia's public schools are closed due to a teacher walk-out over pay

Public schools across West Virginia are closed Thursday as teachers and other school employees hit the picket lines, demanding higher wages and better benefits.

According to Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association (WVEA), teachers in all of the state's 55 counties are participating in the planned two-day walk-out, and a group will march Thursday morning to the capitol building in Charleston.

Organizers expect thousands of teachers to participate.
West Virginia employs nearly 20,000 classroom teachers in its public schools and has more than 277,000 students enrolled, according to Alyssa Keedy of the West Virginia Department of Education.

Source

Good for them. Teachers everywhere are criminally underpaid but it is especially true in West Virginia. Hopefully teachers in other states still take inspiration from their West Virginia counterparts and start taking their governments to task over the less than desirable conditions they and their students are forced to put up with.

It's time we actually take education seriously in this country and provide the funding that it deserves.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

Wow and 90 districts in Oklahoma are going to 4 day weeks for the exact same thing.

Teachers should be making alot more than they make , a damm babysitter makes as much as some teachers.

Its a joke and we wonder why our kids are eating effing tide pods and playing the knockout game.

a reply to: Xcalibur254


Ummm...you were saying...?

West Virginia average teacher salary...$45,453.00

Add all their bennies on top of that...

Cry me a river...







YouSir

Most red states, republican conservatives, treat their teachers like crap. Don’t pay em, can’t have a union, have to accept massive pay cuts. It’s the conservative republican way.

Screw the ordinary people and lavish love on the rich

$45,000/yr is about as good a job as you can get in West Virginia. On the state average I'd bet that puts them in the top 20% of earners. Compared to the parents of the kids they're teaching they're pretty well off. Everyone is losing ground on healthcare so join the crowd. Find a job teaching in a better paying state if that's your priority.

West Virginia is in the bottom 10 states for teacher pay but that does not make them underpaid when the rest of the state is languishing from high unemployment and where median income is $14.79/hr or $35,000/yr.

originally posted by: YouSir
a reply to: Xcalibur254


Ummm...you were saying...?

West Virginia average teacher salary...$45,453.00

Add all their bennies on top of that...

Cry me a river...

YouSir

1. Alaska: $77,843

2. New York: $76,593

3. Connecticut: $75,867

4. California: $72,050

5. Massachusetts: $71,587

6. New Jersey: $70,700

7. Rhode Island: $67,533

8. Maryland: $65,257

9. Illinois: $65,153

10. Virginia: $63,493

The 10 states where teachers get paid the least:
1. Mississippi: $42,043

2. Oklahoma: $42,647

3. South Dakota: $43,200

4. North Carolina: $43,587

5. Arizona: $43,800

6. West Virginia: $45,477

7. Arkansas: $47,053

8. Idaho: $47,063

9. Kansas: $47,127

10. Louisiana: $48,587

blogs.edweek.org... w=teacher%20salary&cccv=content+specific+ad&gclid=CjwKCAiA8bnUBRA-EiwAc0hZk6yUSsM5uX9E81Gb4-CjOErWNulbSiQF0zJz5nFsqerAg8fN72HtVxoCGScQAvD_BwE


That's near the bottom

As people can see the red states are the worst in pay and likely they want to cut teachers salaries like they did in Kansas and other red states

Their barbaric

a reply to: Xcalibur254

The educational system needs a complete overhaul. It needs to start with the ties to property taxes.

At least this walk out had nothing to do with a shooter inside the school...just sayin.

They should probably negotiate to have a conceal and carry license.

originally posted by: Willtell

originally posted by: YouSir
a reply to: Xcalibur254


Ummm...you were saying...?

West Virginia average teacher salary...$45,453.00

Add all their bennies on top of that...

Cry me a river...

YouSir

1. Alaska: $77,843

2. New York: $76,593

3. Connecticut: $75,867

4. California: $72,050

5. Massachusetts: $71,587

6. New Jersey: $70,700

7. Rhode Island: $67,533

8. Maryland: $65,257

9. Illinois: $65,153

10. Virginia: $63,493

The 10 states where teachers get paid the least:
1. Mississippi: $42,043

2. Oklahoma: $42,647

3. South Dakota: $43,200

4. North Carolina: $43,587

5. Arizona: $43,800

6. West Virginia: $45,477

7. Arkansas: $47,053

8. Idaho: $47,063

9. Kansas: $47,127

10. Louisiana: $48,587

blogs.edweek.org... w=teacher%20salary&cccv=content+specific+ad&gclid=CjwKCAiA8bnUBRA-EiwAc0hZk6yUSsM5uX9E81Gb4-CjOErWNulbSiQF0zJz5nFsqerAg8fN72HtVxoCGScQAvD_BwE


That's near the bottom

As people can see the red states are the worst in pay and likely they want to cut teachers salaries like they did in Kansas and other red states

Their barbaric

Did it ever enter your pea brain that the states at the top of the list are high cost of living areas and thus the salaries reflect that fact?

Seriously, are you really comparing cost of living of New York to West Virginia? Alaska? You do realize Alaska is one of the most expensive places to live right? California? Massachusetts?

$45k in West Virginia is probably the equivalent of $90 or $100k in Manhattan.

I just wonder about some of you...

I'm split on this.

On one hand they are breaking up kids routines and putting their education at risk with this, on the other hand I understand that when you feel strongly about something, words hardly speak as loudly as actions.

-Alee

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: Willtell

originally posted by: YouSir
a reply to: Xcalibur254


Ummm...you were saying...?

West Virginia average teacher salary...$45,453.00

Add all their bennies on top of that...

Cry me a river...

YouSir

1. Alaska: $77,843

2. New York: $76,593

3. Connecticut: $75,867

4. California: $72,050

5. Massachusetts: $71,587

6. New Jersey: $70,700

7. Rhode Island: $67,533

8. Maryland: $65,257

9. Illinois: $65,153

10. Virginia: $63,493

The 10 states where teachers get paid the least:
1. Mississippi: $42,043

2. Oklahoma: $42,647

3. South Dakota: $43,200

4. North Carolina: $43,587

5. Arizona: $43,800

6. West Virginia: $45,477

7. Arkansas: $47,053

8. Idaho: $47,063

9. Kansas: $47,127

10. Louisiana: $48,587

blogs.edweek.org... w=teacher%20salary&cccv=content+specific+ad&gclid=CjwKCAiA8bnUBRA-EiwAc0hZk6yUSsM5uX9E81Gb4-CjOErWNulbSiQF0zJz5nFsqerAg8fN72HtVxoCGScQAvD_BwE


That's near the bottom

As people can see the red states are the worst in pay and likely they want to cut teachers salaries like they did in Kansas and other red states

Their barbaric

Did it ever enter your pea brain that the states at the top of the list are high cost of living areas and thus the salaries reflect that fact?

Seriously, are you really comparing cost of living of New York to West Virginia? Alaska? You do realize Alaska is one of the most expensive places to live right? California? Massachusetts?

$45k in West Virginia is probably the equivalent of $90 or $100k in Manhattan.

I just wonder about some of you...

Base numbers don’t matter much when the annual increase in salary doesn’t cover the rise in healthcare premiums OR the cost of living.

Another fun fact about the Oklahoma school district I live in: the superintendent of the district, which has failed since she came on, makes over 250,000 dollars per year plus benefits, while first year teachers make between 18 and 25,000 per year. The district complains about why they cannot hire enough new teachers to fill the classrooms.

originally posted by: Benderisfunny
Another fun fact about the Oklahoma school district I live in: the superintendent of the district, which has failed since she came on, makes over 250,000 dollars per year plus benefits, while first year teachers make between 18 and 25,000 per year. The district complains about why they cannot hire enough new teachers to fill the classrooms.

So you don't think the CEO of the entire school system is worth $250k/yr?

a reply to: NerdGoddess

Think of it this way, better paid teachers means happier teachers means better teachers. So in the end its beneficial for the students as well. In a lot of places teachers have to take second jobs to make ends meet. If they're able to make a decent living just by teaching that means they have more time to spend on developing lesson plans and giving more time to each student. Then of course there's the fact that teachers have to provide a large number of the supplies for their classroom out of their own pocket. More money for the teachers means more money they can spend on better supplies for the students.

a reply to: Edumakated

I don't think any CEO is worth $250k/year.

This obviously is a state by state issue.
I am only familiar with the system in indiana by having several teachers in my family.

They are paid pretty well here considering the benefits of the job.
Great insurance with low premiums.
Fair pention plans.
And nearly four months off per year.
That's two plus months in the summer and two weeks between semesters.

Putting up with the fricken kids is the worst part of the job. Cuz autistic Jimmy has to be in regular class so he feels normal..

a reply to: Edumakated

She is not the state superintendent, and the district has gotten worse every year since she was hired. Is that worth 250,000 a year in any position? Make some improvements, and I will change my mind.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

I didn’t even know West Virginia had schools.

$45k a year to work less than 180 days a year.

So for those who think it's too little, how much should they make? Their pay is solely from taxes. You can only tax people so much.

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: Benderisfunny
Another fun fact about the Oklahoma school district I live in: the superintendent of the district, which has failed since she came on, makes over 250,000 dollars per year plus benefits, while first year teachers make between 18 and 25,000 per year. The district complains about why they cannot hire enough new teachers to fill the classrooms.

So you don't think the CEO of the entire school system is worth $250k/yr?

Ours is around $150k with bennies.
Fort Wayne schools is more like $250k but it's a much bigger system.

But to answer your question,
The jobs worth the pay, but the idiots in those jobs are not...