West Virginia Leaders Reach Deal to End Teachers' Strike
BACK TO SCHOOL
The tentative agreement includes a 5 percent teacher pay raise, according to the governor.
GETTY/Scott Heins/Bloomberg / Getty
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced on Tuesday that a deal has been reached in the West Virginia teachers' strike. “We have reached a deal. I stood rock solid on the 5% Teacher pay raise and delivered. Not only this, but my staff and I made additional cuts which will give all State employees 5% as well,” Justice tweeted. “All the focus should have always been on fairness and getting the kids back in school.” According to West Virginia MetroNews, cheers could be heard in Capitol hallways after the tweet was released. Teachers throughout West Virginia have been on strike for more than a week, protesting daily at the state’s capitol. The strike started when teachers deemed a proposed pay raise to be insufficient. Their health benefits were also slated to take a cut this coming year. The strike affected more than 277,000 students in the state.
We have reached a deal. I stood rock solid on the 5% Teacher pay raise and delivered. Not only this, but my staff and I made additional cuts which will give all State employees 5% as well. All the focus should have always been on fairness and getting the kids back in school.
