Mass teacher strikes have spurred changes and salary increases in West Virginia and Kentucky, and are underway in Oklahoma demanding more public funding for schools, but don't expect to see anything like it in Texas, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The reason? A 1993 state law punishes teachers who strike with not only dismissal, but the permanent loss of their teachers' certificate and the loss of their pension.
So Clay Robison of the Texas State Teachers Association says Texas teachers will speak out against low pay, horrid working conditions, and low classroom morale when they vote for candidates for the Legislature in November.
And he says homeowners who are frustrated by constantly rising property taxes should be standing shoulder to shoulder with them.
"The reason that property taxes are so high right now, is that the Legislature inadequately funds public education and local taxpayers have to pick up the slack," Robison told News Radio 1200 WOAI.
He says the situation is about to get worse, with more property tax increases likely. "Next year, they estimate that the Legislature's share will drop down to about 38%, and local taxpayers will be paying 62%, and that share has been steadily increasing.
"Robison says teachers will also rally to support Legislative candidates who don't support the use of public tax money to support private schools, and want to cut down on the number of 'high stakes tests' in Texas classrooms.
1200 WOAI news reported last month that 70% of new teachers are out of the classroom within 7 years of starting a career in education, due to extremely low classroom morale, increasingly awful classroom conditions, and a salary scale that awards six figure salaries to superintendents and paper-pushing administrators while ignoring teachers.
A Bastrop teacher recently pushed the issue by a viral social media post complaining of uncooperative parents, and showing damage done to classroom supplies she had to purchase due to a lack of public funding...damage that was done by students.