CATOOSA, Okla. -- With the walkout deadline just ten days away, teachers are looking to share why they've reached their breaking point.
The state's entry level salary is just over $31,000 and teachers say that number hasn't changed in years.
Mandy Karleskint said overnight Facebook filled with comments faster than she could refresh the page, with teachers sharing their salaries and sacrifices made to stay and teach Oklahoma children.
"It's depressing but at the same time, we're all in this together. So I think just the unity of us across the state... because there were pay stubs on there from every corner of the state," she said.
Karleskint said they want to show how they struggle to make ends meet, and often are working when people expect them to be on break.
"I have three kids at home but I feel like hiring a babysitter for them and going to these trainings in the summer is what I need to do to become a better educator," she said.
Pay stubs showed a range from just under $30,000 to no more than $40,000 at the highest. Karleskint said this is the tip of the iceberg. She said at Wells Middle School they struggle with everything from falling apart textbooks, to dripping ceilings.
"The chairs the school provided, at no fault to them it's all they had, were actually cutting my students legs because they were so old and they were broken. So I just went out on my own with my own money... just basic supplies," Karleskint said.
The math teacher said she feels hopeful going into the walkout, and is proud of her fellow educators who continue to stick it out.
"We have a lot of very needy students... and just to see that they want to be in school and they want to learn... I couldn't see leaving them," Karleskint said.
Close to 200 teachers commented on the post, many mentioning the second jobs they work in order to make ends meet.
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