West Virginia teachers went out on strike across the state, closing down every public school.
“Teachers across West Virginia walked off the job Thursday amid a dispute over pay and benefits, causing more than 277,000 public school students to miss classes even as educators swarmed the state Capitol in Charleston to protest.
“All 55 counties in the state closed schools during Thursday’s work stoppage, Alyssa Keedy, a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Education, said. “Work stoppages by public employees are not lawful in West Virginia and will have a negative impact on student instruction and classroom time,” West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Steven Paine said in a statement this week. “Families will be forced to seek out alternative safe locations for their children, and our many students who depend on schools for daily nutrition will face an additional burden. I encourage our educators to advocate for the benefits they deserve, but to seek courses of action that have the least possible disruption for our students.”
“Data from the National Education Association show that in 2016, West Virginia ranked 48th in average teacher salaries. Only Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Dakota sat below it in the rankings, which included 50 states and the District.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Ranked 48th in teacher pay? How about the state pay teachers more, to have “the least possible disruption for our students”.
This rang a little false for me: “Our families will be forced to seek out alternative safe locations” for their kids, says the state superintendent. Schools don’t seem so safe anymore, do they?
Trump’s idiotic response is radicalizing me on the gun issue. What are guns? Toys for jerks. Let’s take away their toys.
YES. Can we imagine that the writers of the 2nd amendment believed that one day we’d get to the place where guns would become belligerently protected toys for self-righteously spoiled citizens?
How do you plan to do this? Through some kind of massive buy-back? Or just have the government confiscate all of our weapons?
Australia did a buy back.
Scared of the government? Your gun won’t help you. The government has nuclear weapons.
The whole state is walking the line! I am so proud of West Virginia teachers. So proud! If this strike lasts, I would be happy to contribute to a fund if it were created to help these underpaid, unappreciated Americans keep up the fight. It’s a win. There aren’t enough scabs in the state to overcome numbers like these. I stand with the teachers of West Virginia! Just makes my day. Just makes my day!
Indeed!
Teachers across the nation should strike to protest the horrors in Parkland and elsewhere . . . .
Where are Lily and Randi in this notion? Nowhere, as usual, to be found . . .
That’s the way to strike, the entire State. When only a district they don’t have the power.
Agree with the comprehensive state-wide strike.
This is really impressive, especially in a right to work (for less) state. Bravo to the teachers.
Yes! Yay WV teachers!!!
Proud of the West Virginia teachers. I hope the WV legislature provides the incentives for all the teachers to remain teaching in the state. If by chance any teachers have to leave the state, a word to wise: avoid North Carolina. The state has little respect and low pay for its public school teachers.
Billions have been spent on maintaining an empire, money that could have helped improve public education in ALL the states, helped teachers students and schools everywhere. We need new priorities now!