(CNN) In a testy exchange with striking educators, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice defended his role in attempting to resolve the teachers strike that has left all public schools closed for the past week.

"I'm trying. What else can I do?" Justice, speaking from the driver's seat of a black SUV, told a crowd of teachers near the state Capitol. "I'm not king. I'm doing what all I can possibly do."

The back-and-forth came days after Justice reached a tentative pay deal with union leaders that provides for a 5% pay raise the first year . The agreement was designed to end the strike and send teachers back into the classroom, but the bill has stalled in the state Legislature.

Sen. Mitch Carmichael, president of the Senate, said he was concerned the state did not have the money to pay for the proposed raise.

"We cannot continue to spend money we do not have or write checks we cannot cash," he said.

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