Community organizations preparing to take care of children if teachers walk out

OKLAHOMA CITY — If Oklahoma lawmakers don’t meet demands for teacher pay raises and increased education funding in the next three weeks, teachers plan to walk off the job on April 2nd.

Several community groups are stepping up to make sure kids have a safe place to go and nutritious meals to eat if schools shut down.

“We know parents have to go to work,” said Jane Sutter, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County. “We know kids need a really positive place to spend their time.”

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County serves about 350 to 400 kids every day after school and during school breaks at its facility on N. Western Ave. If there is a teacher walkout, the organization will opens its doors for 12 hours a day so those kids have somewhere to go.

“If we’re not at capacity, staff-wise and space-wise with our club member kids, then we’d open it up to other kids in the district,” Sutter said. “It’s just hard to tell.”

The YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City is also assessing what it will be able to do for students based on DHS requirements and facility capacity limits.

“I feel like the community is really rallying behind the teachers, honestly,” Sutter said. “I’ve yet to hear anybody say they shouldn’t be doing this. What I hear people say is how can we help? How can we be there for the kids during this time?”

A big concern is the hundreds of thousands of children who depend on getting breakfast or lunch at their schools.

“So we all have to come together and help,” said Katie Fitzgerald, the CEO of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. “If we don’t do that, children will go without meals and families will be even more stressed.”

The Regional Food Bank is increasing its meal production and packing more family boxes full of food to meet the potential need.

“We wanted to get ahead of it as quickly as we could, because in order to move that much product and food out, you’ve got to be working several weeks in advance,” Fitzgerald said.

The Regional Food Bank needs volunteers and donations in order to serve these kids.

“This is what Oklahoma is all about,” said Fitzgerald. “Some tough things come our way at times, but we’re tough and we get through it and we make things better. That’s our hope and goal for this whole situation.”

The YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs, and several other youth development programs plan to meet Monday to discuss preparations and how to best share resources.

The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy is creating a database of organizations that will provide child care and nutrition programs during the teacher walkout. Groups can contact OICA at info@oica.org in order to have that information listed. You can find a compilation of those resources here.