The protesters included dozens of teachers from nine schools in west Phoenix and Glendale who called in sick in the first job action teachers have called since organizing earlier this month.

Teachers gathered at the state Capitol on Wednesday to protest their low pay, including some from west Phoenix schools who plan to skip their normal workday in a job action.

Looking for a scapegoat a year ago, Gov. Doug Ducey accused school officials for the woes of the Arizona teacher, whose average salary is among the lowest in the nation. Nearly a year later, the governor sounds like a changed man.

Arizona teachers have not been quiet about their reasons for abandoning the profession and even the state: high stress, low morale and low pay. Yet the state’s response has not been enough to end the ongoing crisis, a new report from a Washington D.C.-based think tank concludes.

The Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind have continually struggled to recruit and retain teachers who know their subject matter and are certified to teach students who are blind or deaf.

Arizona’s teachers union called for a 20 percent pay raise for all educators in the state, arguing that if it’s good enough for Gov. Doug Ducey’s deputies, it’s good enough for teachers.

School officials say they won’t count on ongoing funding to boost teacher pay until they see it. So instead of increasing teachers’ base salaries, some schools are preparing to make a lump sum payment to teachers in the amount of 1 percent of their salaries.

As the Arizona superintendent of public instruction, I have traveled around the state three times on my annual “We Are Listening Tours.” These tours give fellow Arizonans the opportunity to tell me what’s going right, what’s going wrong and the ...

Teachers in Arizona are getting second jobs not because they’re struggling to survive on their low pay, but because they want to enjoy the finer things in life, like boats, according to House Majority Leader John Allen.

The head of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce waded into a storm of criticism after calling the teachers’ union “crybabies” for asking for pay raises.