OKLAHOMA CITY — Thousands of Oklahoma teachers, students and their supporters staged massive demonstrations at the state Capitol for the fourth straight day Thursday while Republican lawmakers struggled to find a way to placate the chanting masses and bring an end to a walkout at some of the state’s largest school districts.
State House and Senate leaders announced they would take up money-raising bills Friday – a rarity for Oklahoma lawmakers who typically don’t go to the Capitol on the final day of the workweek. But a top teachers union leader said Thursday that he did not believe the measures under consideration would be enough to end the strike.
Senate Floor Leader Greg Treat, a key negotiator on the budget, said he had not met with education union leaders and didn’t know what it would take to resolve the situation.
“I’m not the one who started the walkout, so I’m not the person to ask,” said Treat, a Republican from Oklahoma City.
Republican Gov. Mary Fallin has faced the brunt of criticism from teachers, many of whom blame the term-limited governor for supporting tax cuts and generous state subsidies for businesses that have led to declines in state funding for schools and other state services. The governor further raised the ire of teachers after an interview this week in which she likened striking teachers to a “teenage kid that wants a better car.”
Dozens of protesters inside the packed Capitol responded Wednesday by jangling their keys in the Capitol rotunda and chanting “Where’s our car?”
“It just seems like there’s a large lack of understanding on her part,” said Jennifer Smith, an elementary school teacher from Tulsa.
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