Every single West Virginia public school was closed today including over 680 schools in the state's 55 counties. The closings come after a teacher strike that began last week where teachers are demanding higher wages and more comprehensive benefits. The state ranks 48th in the nation for average teacher salary and employs over 20,000 under paid educators. West Virginia governor Jim Justice signed a bill last week that would raise teachers' salary however strike leaders have refused to back down saying that the bill is not strong enough.
While school closings are inconvenient and take time away from education, these strikes outline a larger issue in the country of teacher's compensation. Educators for years have demanded higher wages with governments flat out ignoring these requests. The strikes are important in that they send a clear message to legislatures that teachers will not sit around any longer working for low wages when their job is such an integral part in making the world succeed.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/26/health/west-virginia-map-school-closings-trnd/index.html
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