Calling the governor's proposal inadequate, leaders of the #RedForEd movement have scheduled a vote this week to decide whether to strike.
In a statement late Sunday, key organizers said the plan by Gov. Doug Ducey to hike salaries of teachers by 19 percent by 2020 does not meet the key goal of getting education funding back to where it would have been now had lawmakers not made a series of cuts during the Great Recession. They said classroom sizes are still too large and equipment needs are unmet.
But Noah Karvelis, one of the leadership team members, said there's something even more basic.
He said Ducey's proposal for both pay hikes and to restore other capital dollars to where they were before the recession lacks any sort of identified funding source. Instead, the governor has been relying on his belief that an improving economy will generate more tax dollars.
That, said Karvelis, does not give educators hope that the money will be there.
"These are empty promises,'' he said.
Derek Harris said the plan is to distribute paper ballots to all educators — including both teachers and support staff — at all schools, with voting starting as early as Tuesday.
