Arizona teachers will receive $300 million in pay raises, ending week-long strike

Arizona teachers' strike.
(Image credit: Ralph Freso/Getty Images)

The Arizona teachers' strike has come to an end.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed a budget bill Thursday morning to approve more than $300 million in teacher pay raises, AZCentral reports.

Lawmakers in the state worked through the night to pass the bill, bringing the week-long teacher walkout to an end. Thousands of teachers went on strike last week, and the vast majority of public schools across Arizona were closed for six straight days. Leaders of the strike said Wednesday that they would end the walkouts if the budget passed, even though it fell short of the group's demands.

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Ducey approved a $10.4 billion spending plan that will give teachers an average 9 percent pay raise this year, and 5 percent more in each of the next two years, reports The Associated Press. It will additionally restore some of the state's previously cut funding for public school infrastructure and resources. Teachers were demanding a 20 percent raise and an additional $1 billion in school funding.

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Summer Meza, The Week US

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.