Teachers and students wave to motorists outside Paseo Verde Elementary Wednesday, April 18, 2018 in Peoria, Ariz. Arizona teachers are weighing whether to walk out of their classrooms to demand more school funding after weeks of growing protests — a vote that's raising questions about how an unprecedented strike could play out across the state's education system. (AP Photo/Matt York)

PHOENIX - The Latest on Arizona teachers protesting for higher pay and increased school funding (all times local):

9:45 p.m.

Arizona House Democratic Leader Rebecca Rios released a statement supporting the planned teacher walkout.

Rios called the walkout "brave and righteous."

Arizona teachers voted overwhelmingly in favour of the walkout, which is set to begin April 26.

Gov. Doug Ducey blasted the decision on Twitter and said he is committed to getting teachers a 20 per cent raise by 2020.

Rios says teachers have earned a pay increase that's based on a real revenue source, "not smoke and mirrors."

Organizers say the governor's plan also doesn't address other needs, including raises for support staff and a return to pre-Great Recession school funding levels.

Arizona jumped into a movement for higher teacher pay that started in West Virginia, where a strike garnered a raise, and spread to Oklahoma, Kentucky and most recently Colorado.

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9:30 p.m.

Arizona's governor blasted the statewide walkout on Twitter, saying children are the ones who lose out if schools shut down.

The Arizona Education Association announced late Thursday that of the 57,000 teachers who submitted ballots, 78 per cent voted in favour of the walkout. Teachers will walk out of classrooms starting April 26.

Gov. Doug Ducey wrote on Twitter that he is committed to getting teachers a 20 per cent raise by 2020.

Joe Thomas, the president of Arizona Education Association, says the governor's plan doesn't address other needs, including raises for support staff and a return to pre-Great Recession school funding levels.

The vote follows weeks of mounting protests.

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9 p.m.

Arizona teachers have voted to walk off the job in an unprecedented move to demand increased school funding.

A grass-roots group and the state's largest teacher membership group said Thursday that teachers voted overwhelming in favour of a walkout.

Arizona has among the lowest-paid teachers in the U.S. It is one of several Republican-dominated states where teachers have joined together to push for more money in the face of low salaries, large class sizes and crumbling infrastructure and outdated supplies.

The vote follows weeks of mounting protests and an offer by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey to boost teacher pay by 20 per cent. Teachers say his plan doesn't address other needs, including raises for support staff and a return to pre-Great Recession school funding levels.

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12:30 p.m.

A grass-roots group that's organized weeks of protests by Arizona teachers is expected to give the results of a vote on whether educators should launch a first-ever statewide strike seeking increased school funding.

The group Arizona Educators United is set to make the announcement late Thursday in Phoenix with the Arizona Education Association, the state's largest teacher membership group.

If teachers vote in favour of walking off the job, it's unclear when it could happen.

The group has reserved space Friday and for four of five days next week for rallies as it prepares for a possible walkout. Organizers said this week that the group is "preparing for all options right now."

The vote comes after Republican Gov. Doug Ducey offered teachers a 20 per cent raise by 2020 but didn't address other demands, including more overall school funding.

News from © The Associated Press, 2018