SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The Latest on a walkout by Oregon teachers to protest education funding (all times local):
4 p.m.
The Oregon Education Association estimates that 25,000 people showed up at a teacher walkout and rally in Portland to call for more education funding.
Hundreds more people turned out Wednesday in Eugene and Salem, where they protested on the steps of the state Capitol and in a nearby park.
The walkout comes as Republican lawmakers prevented a vote on a $1 billion education tax for the second day in a row.
Rep. Barbara Smith Warner, the Portland Democrat who helped craft the legislation, says it’s now up to teachers to keep up pressure on Republicans.
Dallas High School senior Braydon Wallace says classes are so crowded that students have to sit on the floor and textbooks are missing pages.
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2 p.m.
Some school districts in Oregon think a walkout isn’t the right way for teachers to air their grievances about how much money the state is spending on education.
Tens of thousands of teachers walked out of classes statewide Wednesday. Oregon schools have some of the largest class sizes and lowest graduation rates in the United States.
Grants Pass Superintendent Kirk Kolb says students will instead be participating in volunteer events to show why the community should value education.
Kolb’s district is in one of the most conservative cities in Oregon. He says “walking out of school and closing school, we agree that’s not a message we want to represent.”
Most schools gave a week’s notice and offered day care and free lunch programs, something parents say they appreciate.
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1:15 p.m.
Thousands of teachers are marching through downtown Portland to call for more money for Oregon schools.
Crowds gathered on sidewalks Wednesday to watch, and many onlookers cheered in support. The Portland protest was one of many statewide as teachers walked out to draw attention to education funding.
Kathy Paxton-Williams grew up in the Portland Public Schools and has been teaching for more than 20 years. She says she has seen dramatic changes for kids and that every year there’s been cuts after cuts.
Oregon schools have some of the largest class sizes and lowest graduation rates in the United States.
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12:20 p.m.
Oregon’s Senate Republicans have failed to turn up for a second day, keeping majority Democrats from voting on a $1 billion education tax as tens of thousands of teachers walked off the job over school funding.
The 12 GOP senators didn’t show both Tuesday and Wednesday, denying the chamber enough members to vote on the legislation.
Republican Sen. Tim Knopp says the party is “in for the long haul” and won’t return to the Capitol until Democrats agree to renegotiate the tax plan.
The measure would raise revenue through a half a percent tax on some of Oregon’s wealthiest businesses.
More than 600 schools in 25 districts have been forced to close as teachers protest Wednesday for more classrooms money
Knopp says Republicans won’t support new revenue for schools that doesn’t address the state’s spiraling pension debt.
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8:40 a.m.
Holding signs and wearing T-shirts declaring “Proud Educator,” teachers across Oregon are staging a one-day walkout to rally for more money for schools.
Many schools in Oregon were to be closed for at least part of the day Wednesday, including dozens in the greater Portland area.
Oregon schools have some of the largest class sizes and lowest graduation rates in the United States.
The action follows a wave of teacher activism that began in West Virginia in 2018 and was followed by Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona and elsewhere.
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10:24 p.m.
Thousands of teachers plan to walk out across Oregon to protest education funding.
Schools around the state will close for at least part of Wednesday as teachers try to put pressure on lawmakers for more money.
Oregon schools have some of the highest class sizes and lowest graduation rates in the United States.
The action follows a wave of teacher activism that began in West Virginia in 2018 and was followed by Oklahoma, Kentucky and Arizona.
Teachers in North Carolina and South Carolina rallied at their respective state capitols last week seeking more money.
The state’s school funding problem can be traced to the 1990s, when voters passed two ballot measures to limit property taxes.
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