Causal Analysis Essay: Oklahoma Teacher Walk Out

Name: Course: Professor: Date: Causal Analysis Essay: Oklahoma Teacher Walk Out Frustrations within the education sector in Oklahoma has been witnessed for years, in Oklahoma, public school funding does not match the pace of student growth. Apart from school funding, Oklahoma teachers are among the lowest paid teachers in the nation. Teachers in Oklahoma have been voicing their concerns for years. Recently, the teachers union in Oklahoma gave the state legislators an April 1 deadline to pass the proposed funding package. Teachers in Oklahoma have been demanding for a pay raise, including a substantial amount to boost public school education. Prior to the deadline, Oklahoma legislators passed a bill with an average pay raise of $ 6,000 towards teachers, with $ 50million to boost public education. The bill also allocated $ 1,250 for support staffs (Cillizza 3). Although the teachers received a pay raise, the bill seems to be inadequate in addressing teachers' concerns. Contrary to what was passed by the legislators, the teacher union demands a $ 10,000 pay for three years for each teacher, a $ 5,000 increase for support staff with $ 200million in additional funding for the school (Cillizza 3). The biggest question is how to raise this money. The current pay raise recently passed by the legislators is not enough to reverse the school funding cuts that have severely affected the state of education for several years. To voice their concerns, thousands of public school teachers supported by parents and students staged a walkout in protest over the low pay and limited education funding (Balingit 5). Recently, teachers in Oklahoma marched to the capitol building in a bid to resolve this issue. Previously, teachers held massive rallies, but their efforts did not yield much. In an attempt to find a permanent solution, many teachers ran for state office in 2016, but have been unsuccessful in passing legislation to fund teachers' pay. Teachers have increasingly felt the need to take immediate action to push the government to act, leading to the ongoing teachers' strike (Balingit 6). The strike organized by the Oklahoma Education Association after the deadline issued by the teachers union paralyzed learning. Teacher marched to the Capitol Hill building wearing custom-made T-shirts to push legislators to review the recent bill. Nearly 200 out of 512 school districts have been closed. This translates to close to half of the 512 district schools (Cillizza 3). More than 30,000 teachers and educators are pushing for more budget allocation within the education budget. Teachers want the legislators to allocate a total of $ 3.3 billion to cover all school-related expenses, including teacher’s benefits and a pay raise for all public employees (Balingit 6). Apart from teachers, parents and students are equally concerned about the state of education in Oklahoma, a Facebook group titled "Oklahoma Teacher Walkout- the time is now" has more than 70,000 members, including parents and other stakeholders supporting the school walk out. School boards have also voted to support teacher move to...