Photo Provided Teachers and service personnel from throughout West Virginia resumed protesting at the state Capitol in Charleston Wednesday morning, the fifth day of a statewide work stoppage to protest low pay and issues with the state's public employees insurance fund.

PARKERSBURG — Confusion reigned Wednesday as a nearly week-long statewide walkout of teachers and service personnel continues today in all West Virginia counties despite calls from state lawmakers and union leaders for employees to return to work.

Gov. Jim Justice and the heads of the West Virginia Education Association, West Virginia American Federation of Teachers and the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association reached an agreement Tuesday evening for the creation of a task force to address the state Public Employees Insurance Agency, or PEIA, and for a 5 percent pay increase for teachers and 3 percent for other public employees. Justice announced, as part of the deal, Wednesday would act as a “cooling off” day and employees would return to work Thursday.

However, tempers and disillusionment grew throughout the day Wednesday as more than 3,000 public employees gathered at the state Capitol in Charleston to find little movement on the promised pay increase and no talk of changes to the state’s insurance program.

Following a day of talks behind closed doors, representatives of the teacher and service personnel unions held a press conference Wednesday evening in Charleston and told all state teachers and service personnel to return to work Thursday, saying they believed Justice was working in good faith to deliver his promises

“We believe the best course of action at this time is to return to school,” said Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association. “We realize not everyone will.”

By 11 p.m. Wednesday, all of the state’s 55 county-based school systems had canceled classes for today.

“Many employees locally expressed a lack of trust with legislators and have requested the cooling off period to continue,” said Greg Merritt, president of the Wood County AFT. “Any decision about school closure cannot be an easy one, but we appreciate that decision.”

“We want to thank the public for their support during this time. We understand it has not been easy,” said Bruce Boston, president of the Wood County Education Association. “Many of us were looking forward to returning to work. We are hoping this is over soon.”

Though as of Wednesday night Jackson County Schools was still set to open today, teachers said the majority of employees would not report to work.

“We met tonight (Wednesday) and voted overwhelmingly to stay out,” said Adena Barnette, president of the Jackson County Education Association and a member of the executive board of the WVEA. “Eighty-four percent of the attendees of our meeting” voted to walk out, with more than 300 people attending the meeting.

Randy Halsey, a member of West Virginia American Federation of Teachers and a teacher at Midland Trail High School in Fayette County Schools, was part of the protests at the state Capitol Wednesday.

Fayette County Schools was among the school systems to cancel classes for today.

“The consensus from our county in the meeting this evening, we need concrete proof, concrete evidence that things are being worked on,” he said. “We’ve been made promises and promises over the years, and they’ve not been fulfilled. We’re taking a stand this time, we’re not backing down.”

Halsey said he has been attending all of the rallies at the state Capitol, but on Wednesday emotions ran high.

Wednesday “things were way different,” he said. “There was a level of anger I haven’t seen. People were absolutely frustrated and angry.”

Halsey said the main reason for the walkout has been issues with the state’s PEIA system, and that topic seems to have been shuttled to the side by lawmakers who instead have concentrated on small pay increases. Halsey said while he was pleased to see the creation of a PEIA taskforce and the governor’s pay increase amendment successfully move through the House of Delegates, many hurdles still remain.

“We’re all going back down to the Capitol,” he said. “We all know the barriers in the Senate. That’s our focus right now, to try to get them on board with us.”

“It’s been an extremely long week,” said Craig Bratcher, an AFT member who teaches electrical classes at the Boone County Career and Technical Center. Boone County canceled classes for today, and teachers and service personnel will be heading back to Charleston today, he said.

Bratcher said he believes the lack of a written deal between the governor and union leaders, as well as the lackluster and in some cases negative response by legislators, caused everyone to rethink ending the walkout.

“That was the problem: There was nothing in writing,” he said. “It was a situation where we were taking the governor’s word for it again, and people know that’s sometimes not a strong indication of what was actually happening.”

Bratcher said Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, also indicated Wednesday he had the votes to defeat the pay raise amendment.

“We elected them to do a job for the people and not for big business, and it’s pretty obvious who’s telling them what to do,” Bratcher said. “Now the big chore is to get this through the Senate.”