Gov. Ducey Signs Education Funding Bill On 6th Day Of Walkout

PHOENIX, AZ – Early Thursday morning, Gov. Ducey put pen to paper and signed a budget bill giving $100 million more to fund education and enough money to give teachers 20 percent raises by 2020. It effectively brings an end to the historic six-day teacher walkout that has swept the state.

Since the bill wasn't until signed until Thursday morning, most schools will remain closed.

"Teacher raises are on the way," Ducey said.

Teachers from across the state walked off the job last Thursday and for five days, tens of thousands of them have been gathering at the capitol to keep the pressure up. (Get Phoenix Patch's daily newsletter and real-time news alerts. Or, find your local Patch here and subscribe).

"I applaud the work that you've put into this, every ounce of sweat and fervor," one of the leaders of Arizona Educators United, Derek Harris, said in a message to teachers.

"None of what we have accomplished could have happened without our collective effort. We are a force to be reckoned with."

They walked out demanding that the state restore the $400 million in education funding that has been cut over the past ten years as well as 20 percent raises.

Even with that level of raise, Arizona teachers will stay make below the national average.

WHAT DISTRICTS ARE OPEN AND CLOSED ON THURSDAY

The legislation meets teachers part way. It restores $100 million and provides enough money to give ten percent raises to some teachers.

With the House and Senate not expected to take up the proposal until Wednesday evening – and, in theory, could pass the budget Wednesday night – it remains to be seen if teachers will return to work on Thursday.

"It is clear that people don't want to come in until the budget is passed," one fo the organizers of Arizona Educators United, Dylan Wegela, says, adding that at this point, it is up to individual teachers to decide what they want to do.

"It is up to you and your sites, to decide to go in or not before the budget is passed," he says.

Many teachers hold two, three, or even four jobs so that they can pay their bills.

The ten percent hike that the legislature is poised to deliver, however, is significantly higher than Gov. Ducey's original proposal of 1 percent pay increases for teachers.

The downside is that the proposal only provides raises for teachers who have their own classes. Other educators, such as reading specialists and counselors, are left out.

The current plan also restores $100 million in funding for schools – well below the $400 million that has been cut over the past ten years. Teachers had demanded the full amount be restored.

Tens of thousands of teachers have gathered for four days outside the capitol to bring awareness to what they say are the substandard working conditions that they teach in.

MEET THE PRINTER WHO HELPED TEACHERS AND BECAME A TARGET

Since 2009, the state has cut almost $400 million in payments to school districts that they use for expenses such as new textbooks and repairs to schools.

The state legislature recently determined that because of the cuts, the state spends more than $900 less per student than it did ten years ago. The state spends nearly $4,000 less per student than the national average of $11,392.

Patch recently reported on teachers sharing pictures of outdated textbooks and classrooms in need of repairs.

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Photo via Arizona Educators United.