Arizona teacher walkout ends with 20 percent pay increase

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill Thursday to give teachers a 20 percent salary increase over three years, ending a six-day walkout that closed most public schools as instructors in red T-shirts converged on the state Legislature.

The education package brings in an additional $1 billion for education spending for teacher pay, textbooks, support staff, infrastructure and technology upgrades in what Mr. Ducey called a “real win” for educators.

“Arizona teachers have earned a raise, and this plan delivers,” the Republican governor said in a statement. “The impact our teachers have on the lives of Arizona kids cannot be overstated. They work incredibly hard to make a difference for their students.”

The deal, reached after an emotional all-night legislative session, signaled the end of a protest that had canceled class for two-thirds of the state’s 1.1 million public school students.

School officials in some large districts announced they would reopen as early as Friday, while others districts were expected to wait until Monday.

Arizona Teachers United’s Noah Karvelis told cheering teachers that they had “solved the education crisis,” while union officials hailed the #RedforEd movement as “truly historic.”

At the same time, they made it clear they were dissatisfied with the final education budget.

“The budget is a significant investment, but it falls far short,” said Joe Thomas, president of the Arizona Education Association.

He called on educators to get behind a November ballot measure aimed at increasing school funding with an income tax hike on the state’s top earners.

“The #RedforEd fight continues,” Mr. Thomas and National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen Garcia said in a joint statement. “And since lawmakers aren’t getting the job done, we will.”

Teachers had cited the state’s low instructor pay — Arizona ranks 46th out of 50 states for teacher salaries adjusted for cost of living — and other shortfalls brought on by budget cuts to education and other priorities in response to the Great Recession. Elementary school teachers on average earn $42,474 a year, more than $13,000 below the national average of $55,800.

The deal signed Thursday gives teachers a 9 percent raise at the start of the 2018-19 academic year and a 5 percent increase in each of the next two years.

Opposition to the budget package came mainly from legislative Democrats who said the funding increase wasn’t enough, but they were outweighed by the Republicans, who argued that the deal benefited teachers as well as families hurt by the walkout.

While polls showed strong public support for higher teacher pay, the school closures had also begun to take a toll on parents and children.

“I am going to lift my voice loud and clear which is representing so many voices in this state who are increasingly more and more angry at this ongoing strike,” Republican state Rep. Kelly Townsend said in a late-night post.

The Arizona agreement brings to an end the last of the state teacher walkouts that began in February with the West Virginia teachers’ strike, which resulted in a 5 percent raise for public school teachers.

The strike inspired teacher walkouts in Kentucky, Oklahoma, Colorado and Arizona. The Kentucky and Colorado walkouts ended without pay hikes, although teachers in Pueblo are poised to strike on Monday unless an agreement with the district is reached.

In Oklahoma, teachers kept up the walkout even after Republican Gov. Mary Fallin signed a 16 percent salary increase for educators on the first day. After nine days, the instructors returned to the classrooms without additional concessions.

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.