700 Teachers Call In Sick Over Pay Increase
From Times Wire Reports
About 700 teachers called in sick in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale to protest salary raises that don’t match their expectations. Two weeks earlier, 580 teachers in Tucson staged a similar sickout.
Last year, voters approved an initiative increasing the sales tax to 5.6% from 5% to raise a projected $450 million annually for education, including teacher pay raises.
Some teachers and teachers unions protest the absence of a big boost to salaries that currently average $35,000 a year.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
