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Oklahoma Teachers Strike Cancels Classes for 7th Day

by VOA News

   Classes were cancelled for the seventh day Tuesday in the two largest
   school districts in Oklahoma as leaders of the state's largest teachers
   union push for more funding for public education.
   In addition to class cancellations in Oklahoma City Public Schools and
   Tulsa Public Schools, many other districts in the midwestern U.S. state
   remain closed Tuesday as a statewide teacher walkout extends into its
   second week.
   On Monday, as they have since April 2, thousands of teachers converged
   on the state capital demanding that legislators appropriate more tax
   money for classroom needs.
   Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed into law last month a measure that
   granted teachers pay increases of more than $6,000 and funneled tens of
   millions of additional dollars to public schools.
   The teachers, who say their classrooms need more money, have not said
   when their strike will end.
   The Oklahoma educators walked off the job after teachers did so in West
   Virginia. Teacher strikes have also spread to other states, including
   Arizona and Kentucky.