Flooding State Capitol, WV Teachers Save Public Schools from Privatization, Charters

- Flooding State Capitol, WVA Teachers Save Public Education From Privatization Scheme.- "Last year we were fighting for us. Now we're fighting for our students, to be able to get what they deserve through public education." Julia Conley, Common Dreams, Feb. 19, 2019.

West Virginia teachers celebrated Tuesday afternoon when they learned the strike they had staged had helped force the state House of Delegates to vote down an education reform bill that would have pulled funding away from public schools, redirecting it to private and charter schools and harming students across the state. The pro-privatization bill failed in a 53-45 vote. The victory marks the second time in the past year that teachers in the state have used civil disobedience to force legislators to invest in public education.

EARLIER:

A year after sparking a nationwide movement of educator uprisings, teachers from across West Virginia flooded the state capitol building in Charleston on Tuesday to fight a bill they warn would drain money away from public schools and seriously harm students.

Despite the inclusion of the very pay increases they fought last year to win, the teachers are calling on state lawmakers to reject an education reform bill (S.B. 451) because it also includes funding for charter schools and voucher programs which the state teachers union says would pull much-needed funding from public schools. "By striking, we're basically saying, 'We refuse to take your pay raise under these conditions because we realize how bad privatization will be for our students and our schools,'" Jay O'Neal, a teacher in Charleston, told Jacobin.

Lawmakers in the state House of Delegates and Senate have debated various versions of the proposal in recent days, the most recent of which would allow seven charter schools to operate in West Virginia, which currently has none. The bill would also fund 1,000 vouchers for students with special needs, which critics say actually undermines those students as opposed to helping them.

Teachers argue legislators have rushed through the process without asking for their input and many believe the bill is actually punishment for the victory they won during last year's nine-day strike. "This is not reform, this is retaliation," Brandon Wolford, a special education teacher and president of the Mingo County Education Association, told Jacobin. "Nothing in this proposal would make things better for students or staff. How does bringing in uncertified teachers [by legalizing charters] help our kids?...

More, https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/02/19/flooding-state-capitol-west-virginia-teachers-save-public-education-privatization



- West Virginia teachers filled the State Capitol building on Tuesday as they staged a walkout to protest a new state education bill that promotes privatization and charter schools.