A group of congregations and other civic organizations is planning a series of meetings this weekend to address the Oklahoma teacher pay crisis and its impact on students.
ACTION (Allied Communities of Tulsa Inspiring Our Neighborhoods) will hold at least nine events, said Shay White, an ACTION leader with Together Oklahoma.
Three of the major events will be a discussion from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday at St. James Presbyterian Church, 11970 S. Elm St., Jenks, on “Funding Our Future”; an “Education Awareness Show and Tell” at 11:45 a.m. Sunday at Fellowship Congregational United Church of Christ, 2900 S. Harvard Ave.; and a legislative information table Sunday morning at All Souls Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria Ave.
“We don’t need a state budget that is conditional. We need guaranteed, recurring revenue sources,” White said in a press release.
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Deanna Tirrell, a Jenks Public Schools librarian and a leader with ACTION, said, “People don’t understand the impact this is having on our children. Classrooms are overcrowded, so teachers don’t have the time they used to for working with individual students. Sometimes they are working two and three jobs, so they can’t sponsor extracurricular activities. Teachers are leaving for higher-paying jobs, and that turnover leaves less-experienced teachers in the classroom.”
More information about weekend events is available at actiontulsa.org or by contacting Tirrell (deannatrl@sbcglobal.net or 918-857-5546); or White (shaywhiteserves@gmail.com or 918-924-5064).
