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This combination of photos shows teachers rallying for
education at the Oklahoma Capitol in Oklahoma City on Monday, April 2,
2018, from left, Dan Holcomb, a science teacher from Leedey, Okla.,
LaDonna Crampton, a third-grade teacher at Edmond Public Schools, Dora
Blackman, a fifth-grade teacher from Healdton, Okla., and Rae Lovelace, a
third-grade teacher from Leedey, Okla. All four have part time jobs to
supplement their teaching income. (AP Photos/Sean Murphy)
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Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY
From rodeo announcer to custom-cabinet builder, second jobs have become a necessity for many teachers in Oklahoma, where educators are some of the lowest paid in the nation.
Numerous schools will be closed for a second day Tuesday as teachers continue to rally at the Capitol. Demonstrators on Monday voiced their dissatisfaction with salaries, school funding and other issues.
Here are some who moonlight to make ends meet, sometimes working more than 40 hours extra per week:
DORA BLACKMAN
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Blackman, 45, teaches fifth grade at Healdton Public Schools in south-central Oklahoma.
Part-time jobs: Rodeo announcer and judge; waitress.
Hours worked outside teaching job: 46 per week.
“The reason I started doing the rodeo and announcing is so that I can pay for my daughter’s college education,” said Blackman, who took a $9,000 pay cut when she moved from Texas to Oklahoma in 2008. “I didn’t want her to have to go into debt.”
DAN HOLCOMB
Holcomb, 64, teaches science at Leedey Public Schools in northwest Oklahoma.
Part-time jobs: Lawn care and custom cabinetry.
Hours worked: At least 40 hours per week.
“Our youngest went into the oil field to be a welder, and he makes more than we do combined,” said Holcomb, whose wife also is a public school teacher. “And he doesn’t have a college degree.”
MEGHANN NEELEY
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Neeley, 40, is a second-grade teacher Newcastle Public Schools.
Part-time job: Online English instructor to children in China.
Hours worked: 20 hours a week.
“I shouldn’t have to do it, but it is necessary just to make ends meet,” Neeley said.
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