Arizona teachers to end strike if plan passes

Organizers of a historic teacher strike in Arizona say educators will go back to work Thursday if lawmakers pass a school funding plan.
    
The announcement Tuesday comes after teachers statewide walked off the job last week and shut down schools to demand higher pay and education dollars. Some districts are expected to stay closed Wednesday.
    
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and GOP legislative leaders agreed on a state budget proposal that could be passed into law this week. It falls short of meeting teachers' demands for classroom resources.
    
It gives educators a 10 percent raise next year and starts restoring some of the nearly $400 million in cuts to a fund that pays for supplies, repairs and some support staff salaries.
    
Ducey has promised to bump teacher pay 20 percent by 2020 and restore payments to that fund to pre-recession levels in five years.
    
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4:30 p.m.
    
Some educators in Arizona are volunteering to care for students and holding food drives as a historic teacher strike that has closed schools stretches on.
    
The walkout is in its fourth day Tuesday, with some school districts already planning to close Wednesday.
    
Grass-roots organizers have urged teachers to hold community events. Some are talking to parents over coffee before they head to work, while others are crowding street corners in red shirts to keep up support.
    
Teachers are demanding increased funding for public education.
    
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and the GOP-controlled Legislature are trying to push through a state budget plan that provides pay hikes for teachers but doesn't meet other demands for classroom funding.