Morgantown, W.Va. — The rolling hills of West Virginia, where I grew up, are home to some of my fondest memories. But time and time again, I’ve watched them serve as a backdrop to injustice and negligence by those who lead, often at the expense of a vulnerable population.

This time, it’s our schoolchildren.

At $45,622, West Virginia teachers are the 48th lowest earning in the nation, according to the National Education Association. The minimum salary is just over $32,000. After months of tension over issues including salaries and health insurance costs, the state’s public schoolteachers went on strike Feb. 22.

On Friday, our state legislators refused to take action on a bill that would, over time, give West Virginia teachers a proposed 5 percent raise, and so the statewide work stoppage continued for a seventh day, with 250,000 students out from school as a result.

Despite the loss in critical class time, the fight cannot end prematurely.

As students remain at home, and families struggle to find alternative forms of child care, teachers have to trust that West Virginians will do what West Virginians do best; lean on each other.