Teachers from southern counties flood Capitol in protest

Hundreds of teachers and other public employees from throughout West Virginia filled the Capitol Rotunda Friday morning to call on legislators to hear their concerns on wages and employee insurance programs.

All public schools in Mingo, Logan and Wyoming counties closed their doors Friday for the walkouts while their teachers flocked to Charleston, where they were joined by those from other counties whose schools were closed for weather.

“We’re pushing for our rights, because it has been so bad for teachers for so long, and they expect us to do more with less. We have been doing that, but they keep taking more and more,” said Tiffany Sargent, a third-grade teacher at Verdunville Elementary, in Logan County.