Thousands of Indiana teachers rallied Tuesday at the state Capitol in Indianapolis in pursuit of better pay and more funding for public schools.
CNN reports that at least 147 school districts canceled classes for the "Red for Ed Action Day."
Connie Neri-Jones and 150 of her colleagues drove more than two hours from East Chicago, Ind., to protest.
"Teaching is a profession, not a charity," says Neri-Jones, who's worked in Indiana schools for 47 years. "We have a huge shortage of qualified teachers, and increased funding could help ameliorate that demand."
After brief remarks on the steps of the Statehouse, demonstrators marched around the Indiana Government Center carrying signs saying "we expect respect" and "keep great teachers in Indiana, the Indianapolis Star reports.
One passerby showed support by holding out of a car window a sign that said, "we support you —parents."
The rally demonstrated an unprecedented level of action by the state’s teachers, who largely sat on the sidelines oin recent years as educators in other states rallied, protested and closed down their schools fighting for higher wages and better working and learning conditions.
“We’re energized,” said Keith Gambill, president of the Indiana State Teachers Association. “We’ve been doing everything we can over the years… Still it doesn’t seem to have registered with folks in the legislature that this is a serious matter.”
Gambill says last-in-nation wage growth, average pay that lags behind regional peers and a prolonged teacher shortage has left Indiana in crisis. After being disappointed last legislative session, teachers expect action in 2020, he says.
Lawmakers, however, have signaled that teacher pay would have to wait until the next budget writing session, in 2021.
It’s unclear how teachers will respond to another session without concrete movement on the pay issue.
“We have more than 1 million students in public education,” Gambill says. “They can’t wait for us to get to another budget year and they deserve better than this.”
