| MORE | Hofmeister says Oklahoma teachers should get $5,000 pay raise to stay competitive. 12. Matt Pinnells efforts to create a cohesive brand for the state. With teacher shortages affecting schools nationwide, educators share how pay, parents, politics and the pandemic have led some to leave the profession. Only five states had a lower share of students scoring proficient in 8th grade math than Oklahoma. I want to see the numbers, said Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, chairperson of the House budget committee on education. (The Center Square) - Two bills regarding teacher raises await Oklahoma lawmakers when they begin their legislative session next month, and a third proposal for merit-based pay is on the table. No. The compromise at the end of session was as follows: districts would receive funding for pay raises, and be expected, but not required, to give an average $1,220 raise, to be annualized in future years. Senate Bill 267 passed the Oklahoma Senate on a 36-11 vote. "The metrics used to determine merit-based pay are controversial and inequitable," OEA President Katherine Bishop said. This story originally appeared on eSpark and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. The request also includes a $66 million increase to the education funding formula, the chief source of public school funds. Legislative Democrats indicated they intend to fight against putting away more money in state savings accounts. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on the city and many other important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession. OKLAHOMA CITY The Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday passed a teacher pay raise bill and other measures designed to keep educators in the classroom. I think there are significant steps the state needs to intentionally and very publicly take to show teachers that were serious about the work that theyre doing, that we need them and want them in the classroom, Pugh said. Support Nurias work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com. would give teachers $6,000 over 9 years, divided into three $2,000 raises. Certified Personnel Pay Raise FAQs - Oklahoma State The number of students completing teacher education programs fell by more than one-third between 2008 and 2019, according to a 2022 report by the AACTE. There is no language in either bill requiring pay raises to begin September 1. Oklahoma legislator files bills for teacher, support staff pay Phone: 405-528-2465. The measure would move the starting teacher pay to$39,601 from $36,601. Lawmakers acknowledged that the teacher shortage in Oklahoma was larger this year than it was prior to the tax increases and pay raises, and that the teacher shortage is expected to grow even larger next year. Kim Jarrett's career spans over 30 years with stops in radio, print and television. The Purdue Pharma settlement is still tied up in court, but Stitts budget does not allocate the funding from the Teva settlement, which has already been placed in state account to be used for opioid abatement. The Oklahoma Education Association, the state affiliate of the National Education Association and the states largest teachers union, has steadfastly opposed full reopening of schools and also opposes renewal of state testing that would measure students academic outcomes over the last two years. Outside candidates. Therefore, pay increases in the 2019-2020 school year must be in addition to the teachers step increase based on years of experience and degree level. Bordering states of Texas, Colorado and New Mexico pay more on average than Oklahoma, while Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas pay less, the state agency reported. 11. Charter schools are exempt from minimum salary requirements. It is clear that the pay raise legislation is intended to give districts the maximum flexibility in implementing pay raises. Walters' budget plan differs from the version his predecessor, Joy Hofmeister, put together. Senate Bill 482, by Senate Education Committee Chairman Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, would increase the minimum teacher salary schedule. The state Board of Education on Thursday approved an overall budget request of $3.51 billion for the state Education Department, lower than Hofmeister's ask of $3.57 billion. The proposal would move starting teacher pay to $40,000 annually with a $3,000 pay increase through the next four years, and incremental pay raises after that. Thats not my job. Oklahoma And I think education, our young people and our teachers need to be a priority.. More than four in 10 responded that they "always" or "very often" felt burned out at work. First through fourth-year teachers would see $3,000 raises. Teacher shortages: Why educators are leaving the profession in droves. She is term limited after eight years in office. * Use the following credit line at the end of the story, with oklahomawatch.org hyperlinked online: Oklahoma Watch, atoklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state., by Oklahoma Watch, Oklahoma Watch August 5, 2019, This article first appeared on Oklahoma Watch and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.. Whats not in the governors budget proposal. It's a reporting project and collaboration of KGOU, KOSU, KWGS and KCCU, with broadcasts heard on NPR Member stations. Oklahoma must address its teacher shortage and compete with surrounding states that also are mulling pay increases, Pugh said. Changes in enrollment is one causative behind this drop. State reserves sit at just over $1 billion after Stitt directed the state to save an additional $200,000 last year, an idea that was hotly debated. Oklahoma teachers School districts seesawed between in-person, remote, and hybrid learning, forcing educators to adapt quickly to an environment often not conducive to learning, nor allowing them to provide the best educational model for students of all needs. Oklahoma As a result, the funding for increases will be distributed through the formula. Sarah Huckabee Sanders recently proposed boosting starting salaries for teachers in her state to $50,000. Six takeaways from Gov. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. In SB 1048, the OSDE is required to make a report of pay raises given in 2019-2020. With the appropriation of $58,858,503 and an additional $74,790,265 in funds for operations through the funding formula, the OSDE believes districts will have sufficient funds to follow through with the intent of the Governor and Legislature. A reminder: This raise is permanent and recurring, and State Law prohibits a teachers salary from being reduced from one year to the next. You have permission to edit this article. Oklahoma teachers earn an average of $54,000 a year, which ranks fourth among all bordering states. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. 26-103, to receive the salary increase, regardless of whether employed by a traditional public or public charter school. It also found that more than three-quarters had increased their teaching and nonteaching staff to levels exceeding those before the pandemic. The raises would cost the state $310 billion and were supported by the Oklahoma Education Association. That means ensuring weve got the people and that investment in the (teacher) workforce., More:Superintendent election a 'battle' for future of Oklahoma public education. Teacher Pay There is no language in either bill requiring pay raises to begin September 1. Budget & Tax Oklahoma Budget FY 2020 Highlights SAVINGS $200 million in Oklahomas savings account, putting Oklahoma on the path to storing two months of expenses, more Educators working five to nine years in the classroom would see their minimum pay increase by $4,000, and base pay would jump by $5,000 for teachers with 10 to 14 years of tenure. The Senate Education Committee passed the bill from chairperson Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, without objection. Secretary of State Michael Rogers, who also doubles as Stitts education secretary, said the average teacher pay raise this year was $1,781 when the state funding was combined with contributions from local school districts. The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a particularly grueling time for teachers. Hofmeister is the Democratic nominee for governor and the top challenger to Stitt, a Republican, in the Nov. 8 general election. Whoops! This document is not intended to serve as legal advice, but is general in nature and reflects the questions OSDE has received as of June 24, 2019. Oklahoma schools don't have enough support staff to meet needs, and their salaries are far too low averaging just $21,583 a year. The intent is clear and the OSDE supports this expectation. "We have to keep these teachers.". We are seeing moms step out of the work force altogether, Pugh said. The Quality Counts 2021 report released earlier this year by Education Week showed that only four states had a lower share of 4th grade students reading at grade level than Oklahoma, based on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests that are administered in every state. Pemberton said he hopes measures passed last year like the Oklahoma Future Teacher Scholarship and Employment Initiative Program combined with more legislative efforts this year will start attracting new teachers and retaining current teachers. The Oklahoma State Department of Education will include a $5,000 teacher pay raise in its annual budget request during the state board of education's upcoming 3. Are charter schools required to give a pay raise? SB 1048 explicitly provides that $58,858,503 of what is appropriated to the financial support of public schools from the General Revenue Fund in the General Appropriations bill (HB 2765) shall be used for a salary increase, in addition to and not a replacement for the step increase provided in the state minimum salary schedule. A survey by the RAND Corporation discovered that 90% of school districts had changed operations in one or more schools during the 20212022 school year because of teacher shortages. He did not say what student performance measures would be used as evaluating tools, nor how school districts would be expected to implement the program. 17. The expectation is that the total amount of pay raises will reflect an average across all certified staff of $1,220. The cost to the state would be $1.6 million, Pugh said. Hopefully (the next meeting is about) numbers because I am not a policy guy. Giving Oklahomas teachers a pay raise has been proclaimed as one of the highest priorities of legislators and 26-103 as the target of the appropriated funds for pay increases. Can a district include retirement payments for employees as part of the raise calculation? Oklahoma teachers We can ascertain from the final result of the appropriation that the Legislature intended for districts to have flexibility on how raises are distributed to staff. Mike Mazzei, Stitts budget secretary, said the governors focus right now is to protect state finances so state employees can receive pay raises down the road. Teachers with 15 years of experience and more would receive a $6,000 raise. He told The Center Square he hoped the pay raises would alleviate the state's teacher shortage. We already have a teacher shortage, now the pipeline is almost empty. But Stitts budget guru hinted that offering retirees a 4% cost-of-living adjustment at a cost of $1 billion could be more generous than the state can afford next year. The state Board of Education has approved 3,593emergency teaching certifications this year, including a record number issued in a single month this summer, indicating traditionally qualified teacher candidates are still hard to come by. Oklahoma starts its minimum salary scale at $36,601 for first-year educators. The 2023 legislative session begins Feb. 6. The minimum for a first-year teacher with a The state minimum salary was increased at all years of experience and degree levels by an average of $6,100. In 2017, a survey conducted by the Oklahoma State School Boards Association showed there were 536 teaching vacancies that year. For support staff and paraprofessionals, its a little more complicated: Senate Bill 25 would give districts $1,200 per support staff member. Stitt budget does not include teacher, state employee pay Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. However, the minimum salary schedule did not change, and the salary increase provided through HB 2765 and SB 1048 does not place them on the Minimum Salary Schedule. 6. State Superintendent Ryan Walters wants teacher pay raises tied to student performance, Oklahoman finalist for National Teacher of the Year says cooperation is key to future, said Oklahoma should offer incentive-based raises, suggested the state spend $241 million on his pay-raise plan, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. When SB 267 was discussed and debated on the Senate floor, Pemberton, a former school administrator, warned, Theres any number of jobs that we have a real issue hiring right now.. You have permission to edit this article. The cost for a $1,200 pay raise for twelve months is $70,630,204. The $8.3 billion fiscal year 2020 budget is the largest in state history and includes about $500 million in new state spending. Giving Oklahomas teachers a pay raise has been proclaimed as one of the highest priorities of legislators and Governor Mary Fallin this session. We are anticipating a large number of positions to be open in the next two or three years, and the colleges of education will tell you we are not seeing a big increase in the number of individuals or young people going into education, Pemberton said. The appropriated amount covers ten months of that estimate. Sen. Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee, a retired educator, introduced a bill in December that would give teachers a $2,000 annual raise for the 2023-2024, 2026-2027 In that section of law, certified personnel is defined to mean a certified person employed on a full-time basis to serve as a teacher, principal, supervisor, administrator, counselor, librarian, or certified or registered nurse, but shall not mean a superintendent of a school district. The salary increase, like last years, will not include district superintendents. The request then goes to the Legislature where lawmakers during the 2023 session will make the final decision on each state agencys allocation. Stitts budget also proposes squirreling away an additional $100 million into state reserve accounts. The funding boost would account for the rising cost to operate a school and provide extra funds to raise pay for support staff, whose wages wouldnt increase fromthe teacher raise,Education Department officials said. SB 1048 identifies certified personnel as defined by 70 O.S. Teacher Salaries by District - Oklahoma Watch (Emphasis added). Additionally, one-quarter to one-third of districts had increased pay or benefits for bus drivers, relaxed hiring requirements for substitute teachers, and assigned staff to cafeteria duties. "We're running about the same number this year. He previously served as senior Capitol reporter for The Journal Record, media director for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and chief editorial writer at The Oklahoman. An Oklahoma lawmaker is pushing for a teacher pay raise to combat the states teacher shortage. Kevin Stitt, Joy Hofmeister speak after primary election wins. A working paper from Brown University's Annenberg Institute released in March 2022 cautioned that limited data had "led to considerable uncertainty and conflicting reports about the nature of staffing challenges in schools." While at The Oklahoman, he was the recipient of several awards, including first place in the editorial writing category of the Associated Press/Oklahoma News Executives Carl Rogan Memorial News Excellence Competition for an editorial on the history of racism in the Oklahoma legislature. State schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister announced earlier this week she would include the raise in an annual budget request for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Teachers with five through nine years' experience would receive a $4,000 raise. Panel passes Oklahoma teacher pay raise bill. The downward trend comes against a background in which Oklahomas public schools were already producing some of the worst academic outcomes in the nation even after the recent infusion of state funding through tax increases and federal COVID-19 bailout funding. This is also consistent with statements made by the Governor and legislative leaders teachers are to receive a pay increase in the 2019-2020 school year. Between 4,200 and 5,300 teachers left the classroom each year from the 2012-2013 school year to 2020-21, according to a 2021 report from the Oklahoma State Department of Education. The teacher pay boost would be Oklahomas first in three years, if lawmakers approve it. The measure, which the governor backed, would use excess lottery proceeds to pay for half of a teachers raise. After the October 1 personnel reporting period, OSDE will publish a report including the difference in pay for each teacher and an average pay raise amount for each district. This session, education support professionals must be a bigger part of our conversations about how to Gov. Outside candidates. There are 9,000 teachers that are currently eligible for retirement this year, said Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City. The average Teacher salary in Oklahoma is $53,527 as of January 26, 2023, but the range typically falls between $44,760 and $65,259. Sen. Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee, filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session to give Oklahoma public school teachers and support staff a raise starting in the 2023-2024 school year. That means ensuring weve got the people and that investment in the (teacher) workforce.. Both SB 1048 and HB 2765 have an effective date of July 1, 2019. I cover politics, appellate courts, state agencies and the governor. The state Minimum Salary Schedule remains the same as the one passed in the 2018 Legislative Session. A majority of the school districts in the state do not pay over the minimum salary schedule, he said. The new superintendent nixed Hofmeister's proposed $5,000 across-the-board teacher pay raise, which would have cost nearly $310 million. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time. An Oklahoma lawmaker is pushing for a teacher pay raise to combat the states teacher shortage. Asked if Stitt would support a$5,000 teacher pay increase across the board, his spokesperson reflected on past initiatives. New teachers in Texas start at $44,527. The measure would move the starting teacher pay to $39,601 from $36,601. SB 1048 appropriates $58,858,503 to be used for the purpose of providing an increase in compensation for certified personnel. This funding comes from the total amount appropriated to the financial support of public schools from the General Revenue Fund in the General Appropriations Bill, HB 2765. $4.9 million for the Oklahoma State University Medical Authority for physician recruitment and equipment needs. She can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. But this week members of the Oklahoma Senate effectively A high estimate of the cost to the state would be $25 million, he said. When considering pay raise amounts, districts are encouraged to ensure that the average across all certified staff members equals a $1,220 increase. Weve slipped to number four in the region, so that means Texas and Colorado and New Mexico and a lot of these states are paying more and are drawing our teachers out of the state, Pemberton said. Is the increase including or in addition to the step? combined with more legislative efforts this year will start attracting new teachers and retaining current teachers. The minimum and average salary amounts include benefits. The teacher pay raise would cost the state about $110 million, but Pemberton said given the states $2.8 billion in revenue savings collections, its time to strike while the iron is hot., You need to put your priorities out front, Pemberton said. The intent and expectation is for certified personnel, as defined in 70 O.S. 4. Who is required to receive a salary increase? Stitt approves revised incentive package to lure major company, Incentive package tweaks are on fast track as multibillion-dollar company eyes Pryor site, Global race is on to improve EV range in the cold, Moscow reportedly threatened new parents in Ukraine: Register your newborns as Russian or else, The impact of climate change will be felt worse in these three U.S. cities, Scientists reveal hidden corridor in Great Pyramid of Giza. When Hofmeister was first elected in 2014, she askedthe Legislature to add a $5,000 teacher pay increase on top ofthe budget request from the prior superintendents administration. Teachers in the public schools of Oklahoma shall receive in salary and/or fringe benefits not less than the amount specified in the following schedule. In fact, in many ways Oklahoma schools are flush with more cash than at any time in recent memory. As stated above, the expectation is for certified personnel, as defined in 70 O.S. An Oklahoma lawmaker is pushing for a teacher pay raise to combat the states teacher shortage. At the end of the 2020 state budget year, Oklahoma school $6 million to reduce the Developmental Disability Services waiting list by 10%, or about 600 people. Pemberton said he hopes measures passed last year like the, Oklahoma Future Teacher Scholarship and Employment Initiative Program. Senate Bill 482, if passed, would prompt the state's first wage increase in four years for Oklahoma teachers. 5. StateImpact Oklahoma is a partnership among Oklahomas public radio stations and relies on contributions from readers and listeners to fulfill its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond. Average salary is based on full-time equivalent teaching positions, which includes full- and part-time teachers. But this week members of the Oklahoma Senate effectively admitted that plan has failed. Lawmakers are open to the idea of merit pay, Pugh said, but weve got to raise the floor of educator salaries. Teachers with a 15-year career or longer could see raises of $6,000. The OSDEs cost estimate of $70,630,204 for twelve months includes the employer contribution to OTRS and FICA. All opponents were Republicans while those in favor consisted of the remaining Republicans and all Democrats. A 2% adjustment could be doable, he said. Tax hikes, pay raises, fail to stem Oklahoma teacher shortage We can't find teachers, especially in the math and science areas.". Over time they were able to work to accomplish that.. $10 million for the Digital Transformation Fund. * An interlocal cooperative, or ILC, is an educational service organization than handles duties for a group of school districts or counties. Increased teacher salaries and greater school funding have also had little impact on educational outcomes. The Oklahoma State Board of Education approved a proposal from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters to base teacher pay raises on merit. SoonerCare 2.0, financially, doesnt need to be addressed in the FY 21 budget, he said. 15. The raise is estimated to cost $310 million with the price of insurance and retirement benefits included. There is hereby appropriated to the State Board of Education from any monies not otherwise appropriated from the General Revenue Fund of the State Treasury for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, the sum of One Billion Four Hundred Seventy-eight Million One Hundred Five Thousand Seven Hundred Dollars ($1,478,105,700.00) or so much thereof as may be necessary for the financial support of public schools. "If we don't get this part right it gets progressively more difficult when students can't read at the later levels," Walters said. What is the expectation for pay raises in 2019-2020? As a result, the amount appropriated provides enough funding to give a raise of $1,220 rather than $1,200 over twelve months. But it isnt possible without your support. Mazzei said the governor is hoping to tackle broad tax code changes next year so he plans to shy away from approving new tax credits this year.