Nearly all of the speakers at Tulsa’s community rally in support of teachers Thursday had a story about how an educator had changed their lives.
Suzanne Schreiber’s story was about a teacher who broke her heart. Schreiber, a mother of four and the president of the Tulsa Public Schools board, told the crowd at Williams Green downtown about running into a Memorial High School teacher at Target soon after school had begun in the fall.
Anyone who has followed education in Oklahoma knows how Schreiber’s story ended: the teacher wasn’t at Target shopping, she was there to work a second job.
“It just got me. ... She was doing that after what we think is the most important thing that can be done for our kids,” Schreiber said.
Schreiber went on to send a message heard frequently at the rally: It’s time to give Oklahoma teachers and support staff a pay raise.
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“And they need it right now,” she said.
Mayor G.T. Bynum, who spoke first, made sure there was no misunderstanding what the rally was intended to accomplish.
“It is important for our legislators to see we are watching,” he said, “that this is not something just the unions care about or just the teachers who want more money care about. This is something every Tulsan cares about.”
Thursday’s rally was put together by City Councilor Phil Lakin and other community leaders. Lakin began the event by saying he was “hugely impressed” by the turnout, which filled most of the green.
“This rally is to show our support for our teachers, to those people who have helped shape our lives and to whom we entrust our kids,” he said. “This is a rally to encourage our legislators to burn the midnight oil, to work weekends and to find a long-term solution to our educational funding problem right now, prior to April 2. No more, we need it to be done now.”
Oklahoma teachers and state employees have indicated that they will walk off the job April 2 if a pay raise is not forthcoming.
Tulsa Public Schools teachers this week began “working the contract,” meaning not working beyond the seven hours and 50 minutes required of them by their contract, in a lead-up to the work stoppage that is expected if the Legislature does not fund a teacher pay raise and increase school funding by April 1.
The Oklahoma Education Association last week said that it is seeking a $10,000 teacher pay raise and that legislators’ talk of lesser raises would not stop public school teachers from walking out April 2. Late Wednesday evening, the Oklahoma Senate approved a 12.7 percent teacher pay raise but failed to pass a revenue package to pay for it.
Other speakers included Gordy Guest, owner of Cyntergy and vice chairman of the Tulsa Regional Chamber board; and Booker T. Washington parent Mai Cazenave.
Guest said it is becoming increasingly difficult to find the next generation of workers and that no city can succeed without a quality education system.
“The education system and the business system cannot be separate — they are one thing,” he said.
Guest and other speakers implored the crowd to call their legislators and politely make it clear they want teachers and support staff to be paid properly. He also encouraged businesses owners to get involved with education through programs like Reading Partners.
“We will fail, we will not have a bright future” without a quality education system, he said.
No one spoke more directly or more forcefully to state leaders than Cazenave, who said she was sending out a “blast” to Gov. Mary Fallin and the Legislature.
To Fallin, she declared: “You have failed our teachers, but most importantly, you have failed our students and this state’s education system.”
Tricia Milford-Hoyt, the mother of two students who attend Edison Preparatory School, said she believes in Oklahoma and its ability to provide a quality education system.
But like those who took the podium, she thought it was important to send a message.
“I want to show our support for the teachers in the state,” she said. “I want to make sure that our Legislature (understands) the economic impact of not having well-funded education.
“We are not recruiting companies, we are not retaining families.”
Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist was not a scheduled speaker but attended the rally. At the end, she thanked the speakers and the crowd, saying she had watched the event through her teachers’ eyes.
“It makes them feel demoralized,” she said of the state of education in Oklahoma.
But she ended on a positive note, expressing confidence that events like Thursday’s community rally are going to make a difference.
“We are going to see movement in Oklahoma,” she said. “I am so excited and so confident and so hopeful.”
