teacher pay

Fallin, GOP Legislative Leaders Announce Budget Proposal

By • Oct 23, 2017
Jacob McCleland / Oklahoma Public Media Exchange

Five weeks after calling a special session, Gov. Mary Fallin announced Monday that Republicans in the state House and Senate have reached a budget deal to fill a $215 million shortfall.

Updated Oct. 23 at 1:43 p.m. with Democratic response.

Fallin said the agreement would increase the cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack of cigarettes, hike the motor fuel tax by 6 cents, and change the alcoholic beverage tax. It would also provide a $3,000 teacher pay raise, a $1,000 pay raise for some state employees, and restore the Earned Income Tax Credit.

There Are More Emergency Certified Teachers In Oklahoma Classrooms Than Ever Before

By • Aug 24, 2017
Flickr / alamosbasement

The state set a new record today for the number of emergency certified teachers in Oklahoma classrooms.

The State Board of Education approved 574 new emergency certifications, bringing this year’s total to about 1,400.

Last year, there were 1,160 emergency certified teachers in Oklahoma. Five years ago there were 32.

Schools ask for permission to hire emergency certified teachers after proving they could not find anyone with traditional qualifications.

Oklahoma's Teacher Shortage Is Getting Worse

By • Aug 22, 2017
Flickr / wfryer

A new survey shows what many state leaders feared: Oklahoma’s teacher shortage is getting worse.

As of August 1, there were still 500 unfilled teaching positions across the state. That's according to a survey conducted by the Oklahoma State School Boards Association.

Shawn Hime, the Executive Director of the OSSBA, says his agency talked to more than 300 school districts in order to complete the survey.

Nationwide, Teachers Supplement School Supplies With Their Salaries

By editor • Jul 30, 2017

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Teacher Of The Year In Oklahoma Moves To Texas For The Money

By • Jul 3, 2017

About exactly a year ago we brought you the story of Shawn Sheehan, Oklahoma's 2016 Teacher of the Year.

At the time, he and about 40 other educators were running for office in the state, wanting to make a change because, as Sheehan puts it, lawmakers weren't prioritizing education. Funding for schools in the state has been cut tremendously over the past decade and teachers in Oklahoma are some of the lowest paid in the country.

Income Tax Proposed to Raise Funds for Oklahoma City Public Schools

By • Jun 22, 2017
Emily Wendler / KOSU

Residents of Oklahoma City will soon be asked if they support raising their own income tax, in order to increase funding for city schools.

Oklahoma City Councilman Ed Shadid, along with other concerned community members, announced this morning they will soon circulate two initiative petitions.

Each petition will seek a 0.25% increase in the income tax rate. If the group gathers enough petition signatures, the measures will go to a vote of the people in a special election.

Unfulfilled Teacher Pay Raise Promises Spur More Teachers To Leave

By • Jun 7, 2017
Emily Wendler / KOSU

The promise of a teacher pay raise seemed real this year, like lawmakers were actually going to get it done. But, they didn’t. And so, once again, some teachers are packing their bags in search of more money elsewhere. However, one teacher is asking them to stay in Oklahoma, and keep fighting.

This year’s legislative session began with high hopes of a teacher pay raise.

Governor Mary Fallin stressed the need for one in her February State of the State speech, and lawmakers put multiple pay raise plans on the table.

$6.8B Budget, Teacher Pay Raise & New ODP Chair

By • May 26, 2017

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about the $6.8 Billion budget presented to lawmakers with just a few days left in the 2017 as well as the revenue bills getting passed to pay for the nearly $900M shortfall and the process of releasing the budget shortly before midnight on Tuesday.

The trio also the failure of lawmakers to pass a teacher pay raise bill and the Oklahoma Democratic Party elects possibly its youngest chair in 24-year-old Anna Langthorn.

Budget Crisis, No Teacher Raise & Senator Resigns

By , & • May 5, 2017

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about the situation with the budget as lawmakers have just three weeks left in the session while the governor is threatening a special session and a deadline passes without a teacher raise making it through both chambers.

Teacher Pay Raise Bills Go Undiscussed As Deadline Passes

By • Apr 28, 2017

All of the bills promising a teacher pay raise are dead for this legislative session. But, some lawmakers are still fighting for one.

The Senate’s deadline to vote on House Bill 1114 was Thursday, but they chose to not even discuss the measure.

The bill proposed a multi-year approach to increasing teacher pay, starting with a 1,000 raise next year, and a 6,000 dollar bump by year three.

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