Valerie Strauss sums up why the teachers’ renewed strike in West Virginia is different. It is not about pay. It’s about a fight for the future of public education. The teachers were fighting not only the local supporters of privatization. They were fighting the Koch brothers and ALEC.
Strauss writes:
This time, it wasn’t about pay.
West Virginia teachers walked off the job across the state Tuesday to protest the privatization of public education and to fight for resources for their own struggling schools.
It was the second time in a year that West Virginia teachers left their classrooms in protest. In 2018, they went on strike for nine days to demand a pay increase, help with high health-care costs and more school funding — and they won a 5 percent pay hike. On Tuesday, union leaders said that, if necessary, they would give up the pay hike as part of their protest. They are fighting legislation that would take public money from resource-starved traditional districts and use it for charter schools and for private and religious school tuition.
“Teachers are willing to forsake their raises for the proposition that public education must be protected and that their voices must be protected,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, who went to Charleston, W.Va., for the strike Tuesday. “This was absolutely an effort to defund public education, and teachers fought it.”
Barely four hours into the strike, with hundreds of teachers packed into the statehouse, the Republican-led House of Delegates voted down the state Senate’s version of the omnibus education bill — despite pressure to pass it from conservative and libertarian groups, including some connected to the Koch network funded by billionaire Charles Koch.
It was not clear whether the House vote would put the bill to rest for good, but the episode underscored a growing determination among teachers around the country to fight for their public schools.
“I am DONE being disrespected,” Jessica Maunz Salfia, who teaches at Spring Mills High School in Berkeley County, W.Va., wrote in an open letter (see below) on Monday about why she was going to protest Tuesday.
West Virginia teachers remain at the forefront of a rebellion by educators throughout the country who began striking last year over meat-and-potatoes issues such as pay and health-care costs. But that movement has morphed into something broader: a fight in support of the U.S. public education system that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos once called “a dead end.”
In state after state, teachers are saying the same things: Pay matters, but the future of public education matters more. Privatization is intolerable, whether by charters or vouchers.
No compromise with privatization!
Diane Ravitch's blog 
We can never compromise with the billionaire oligarchs (like Donald Trump who doesn’t know what compromise means) because to them taking an inch — at a time without end eventually results in them owning every mile there is and everyone living on those miles.
No compromise!
The issue of privatization and adequate resources for public schools needs to be fully exposed.
I have been poking around new and pending federal legislation bearing on education. Consider S.266 – Rebuild America’s Schools Act of 2019, 116th Congress (2019-2020) same as (H.R.865) . These identical bills call for federal funds to be used for school facilities.
This section of the bill caught my attention: “TITLE I—GRANTS FOR THE LONG-TERM IMPROVEMENT OF PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES” says that charter schools are to be eligible for grants for facilities and that some grants can be used to “improve access to high-speed broadband sufficient to support digital learning.” Here we go again.
Here is some of the language.
Priority Of Grants—In awarding grants under this section, the State—(1) shall give priority to qualified local educational agencies that—(A) demonstrate the greatest need for such a grant (the bill includes a checklist of factors that function as criteria) and (B) will use the grant to improve the facilities of— (i) elementary schools or middle schools where students who are eligible for a free or reduced price lunch are not less than 40 percent of the total student enrollment OR (ii) high schools where students who are eligible for a free or reduced price lunch are not less than 30 percent of the total student enrollment AND (C) operate public school facilities that pose a severe health and safety threat to students and staff, which may include a threat posed by the proximity of the facilities to toxic sites or the vulnerability of the facilities to natural disasters. Of course such schools should receive support but why support charter school facilities-directly or indirectly?
In addition states MAY give priority to qualified local educational agencies that— (A) will use the grant to improve access to high-speed broadband sufficient to support digital learning accordance with section 301(b) of the Rebuild America’s Schools Act of 2019. I looked up Section 301 (b) of that act. Section 301b refers to the use of “existing public programs or public-private partnerships to expand access to high-speed broadband sufficient for digital learning.” I think that public-private partnerships too often mean that the public is seduced into schemes that yield profits for private companies and private companies shortchange the public if they can. For an example of one of these broadband public-private partnerships see: https://hechingerreport.org/will-a-new-batch-of-licenses-help-rural-students-get-online/
Since January 30, 2019 no less than 164 Democrats in the House have signed on to Rebuild America’s Schools Act. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/865/
The Senate version of this bill (S. 266) has 21 cosponsors all Democrats, one Independent, including some candidates or prospective candidates for the Presidency. Among these are Elizabeth Warren, Kamela Harris, Bernard Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, and Cory Booker. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/266/cosponsors
It is clear that supporters of this bill are eager to expand charter school facilities money beyond the existing federal “credit enhancement program” https://innovation.ed.gov/what-we-do/charter-schools/credit-enhancement-for-charter-school-facilities-program/ and the deep funding of charter school facilities, especially by the mega-billionaire Walton Family Foundation 2020 K-12 Strategic Plan https://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/our-work/k-12-education
And it is equally clear that all of these co-sponsors are behind “digital learning” even if they are clueless about the distinction between instructional delivery by means of the Internet and learning that may or may not be enabled by that method of delivery. Who is in charge of federal policies for educational technology?
The US Office of Technology is now led by the Assistant Secretary, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development; who also has the authority to perform the functions and duties in the position of the Director of the Office of Educational Technology.
This person is Jim Blew, who served for 11 years as director of K-12 reform investments for the Walton Family Foundation, the nation’s largest funder of charter schools. He has held advisory and governing roles for education reform organizations, including the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, the American Federation for Children, which was founded by DeVos, and the Policy Innovators in Education Network.
The Rebuild America’s Schools Act of 2019asserts that states MAY give priority to qualified local educational agencies that— (A) will use the grant to improve access to high-speed broadband sufficient to support digital learning accordance with section 301(b) of the Rebuild America’s Schools Act of 2019.
I looked up Section 301 (b) of that act. Section 301b refers to the use of “existing public programs or public-private partnerships to expand access to high-speed broadband sufficient for digital learning.” I think that public-private partnerships too often mean that the public is seduced into schemes that yield profits for private companies and private companies shortchange the public if they can. For an example of one of these broadband public-private partnerships see: https://hechingerreport.org/will-a-new-batch-of-licenses-help-rural-students-get-online/
I began this excursion into recent legislation with an interest in finding out which announced candidates for the presidency sponsored or co-sponsored bills relevant to education. Since January 30, 2019 no less than 164 Democrats in the House have signed on to Rebuild America’s Schools Act. Their names are listed here. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/865/
The Senate version of this bill (S. 266) has 21 cosponsors ,all Democrats, one Independent, including some candidates or prospective candidates for the Presidency. Among these are Elizabeth Warren, Kamela Harris, Bernard Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, and Cory Booker. Find other names of co-sponsors here https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/266/cosponsors
It is clear that supporters of this bill are eager to expand charter school facilities money beyond the existing federal “credit enhancement program” https://innovation.ed.gov/what-we-do/charter-schools/credit-enhancement-for-charter-school-facilities-program/ and other source of funding for charter school facilities, especially through the mega-billionaire Walton Family Foundation 2020 K-12 Strategic Plan. https://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/our-work/k-12-education
The Network for Public Education will be grading presidential candidates on their support for public education. A good place to look for the quality of that support is in proposed federal legislation.
This is extraordinarily moving. Those West Virginia teachers are true heroes. And teachers. Their lesson: This is how democracy works.
And the 1st Amendment was written to protect the people so they could protest like this without any blowback from the government.
Then add Thomas Jefferson’s advice with the 1st Amendment and we understand what the founding fathers meant.
When powerful tyrants like the Koch brothers, Bill Gates, the Walton Family, Betsy DeVos and Trump attempt to subvert OUR Constitutional Republic and they won’t stop, Jefferson felt we even had the right to even become violent and that sometimes violence as necessary.
We shouldn’t forget that the Founding Fathers put their lives on the line when they rebelled violently against the British Empire. If they had lost, they would have all been hung and all of their property and wealth confiscated by the crown. The history books would list them as traitors.
The Founding Fathers started with peaceful protests and when that didn’t work, they turned to a bloody rebellion that lasted for seven years.
“Though preceded by years of unrest and periodic violence, the Revolutionary War began in earnest on April 19, 1775 with the battles of Lexington and Concord. The conflict lasted a total of seven years, with the major American victory at Yorktown, VA in 1781 marking the end of hostilities.”
Ultimately it is about pay, a 5% raise means little when you don’t have a Public School to teach in.
“Barely four hours into the strike, with hundreds of teachers packed into the statehouse, the Republican-led House of Delegates voted down the state Senate’s version of the omnibus education bill — despite pressure to pass it from conservative and libertarian groups, including some connected to the Koch network funded by billionaire Charles Koch.”
Wow. I really would to know what’s behind the scenes, what’s in the heads of the VW legislators. Are they still keeping their cool or are they panicking?
I wonder how it works with the Union since my understanding is that WV is right to work.
If anyone thinks the strike (or any teacher strike) is not about money, they are fooling themselves. Our society does not value teachers, and does not wish to compensate them properly. No one should have to take a vow of poverty to be a teacher.
Oakland/Alameda County (Cal) is a very high-cost area, due to the tech sector, and the bizarre circumstances in California. Teachers are underpaid.
see this
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/20/us/west-virginia-teachers-strike-day-2/index.html?utm_source=CNN+Five+Things&utm_campaign=36c84da74e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_02_21_07_26&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6da287d761-36c84da74e-82695477
Charles,
The teachers in West Virginia already won a 5% raise. That money is not in jeopardy. They are striking against charters and vouchers, which they know will harm their schools and their students. The article says that clearly. Did you read it? It’s not about pay.
As an ideologue, Charles believes what he wants to believe and facts don’t dissuade him.
The time that strikers are out and without pay often costs them more than the small pay increases they may get as a result of a strike. So, the dominant issue is seldom just a pay raise.
As far as I can tell, Charles was not talking about “pay” but “money”, and a good chunk of the problems with vouchers and charter schools is that they take money away from public schools.
It’s another matter that we often express even ideological problems in terms of money, since “ideas” don’t resonate so readily in people’s minds.
But yeah, he does talk about compensation… 🙂 No doubt, the fact that teachers don’t make enough is a reflection of one their problems (namely, the lack of respect by legislatures).
“Give us choice” …..
“and, we’ll take it away from you.” billionaire boys club
This is quotable, Linda! 😉
Following is a letter I sent to The Commercial Appeal Feb. 2, 2019 attacking two pernicious points charter and voucher advocates use: competition and freedom of choice.
Public schools a vital public service
Two claims I often hear regarding education “reform” (such as vouchers) are that “competition” and “freedom of choice” will improve student outcomes. These claims are posited vis-a-vis the use of public tax dollars: Introduce more competition and choice to the public school arena via charter schools and vouchers and education will improve. They both sound very American.
Of course, people have always had the freedom to choose which school to attend: public, private, parochial. The problem for many has been cost. So why not let tax dollars follow the students is the “innocent” question. Competition, for example, can be useful in the realms of business or sports, but when it comes to public education, support, cooperation and proper funding are better suited to help the vast majority of students excel.
I could argue that when it comes to personal safety my tax dollars should follow me instead of going to local or state government. Let me and my fellow citizens have freedom of choice to hire our own private militias or fire brigades. The competition will keep the authorities on their toes and my tax dollars might be better spent.
Wedging out public tax dollars for private and religious education — at the expense of public education — undermines a fundamental American platform: That the adequate education of all our citizens is a basic human right and responsibility. Educating our citizens is as vital as maintaining our roads, police, fire and other public services. Competition and freedom of choice, as presented by charter and school voucher supporters, are specious rationales.
Kelly Brother, Memphis
Did the Commercial Appeal publish this?
Thankfully, yes.
Kelly.
Your sound arguments and the effort you made to get them published is appreciated. The more people we have working for the best interests of students, communities and the future of the nation and against the billionaire boys club, the more secure the common good.
Thank you.