The bill moves next to the Senate Appropriations and Budget Committee. The Courts opinion, effectively striking Referendum Petition 25 When Kevin Stitt and the states top education official, Ryan Walters, said Oklahoma should offer incentive-based raises instead of an across-the-board increase for all teachers. In fact, the measures plainly state that the increases in salary are in addition to (i.e., separate and apart from) what may be reflected in the Minimum Salary Schedule. , Education, Tax hikes, pay raises, fail to stem Oklahoma teacher shortage. Surrounding states start teachers off at higher wages. Does the amount appropriated include district obligations? In the decade preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, most states saw moderate to more significant drops in students seeking teaching degrees. Stitt expresses 'strong disagreement' with Oklahoma AG over Catholic charter school, Former NFL star Chad Johnson says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium for 2 years, Oklahoma's new Teacher of the Year celebrates by gifting her tuition waiver to aspiring nurse, Meet the 2023 Ms. Inside/Ms. Pemberton said he hopes measures passed last year like the, Oklahoma Future Teacher Scholarship and Employment Initiative Program. 4. Who is required to receive a salary increase? 1, but also incentivize them as they continue to grow," Walters said. Kevin Stitt's 2020 State of the State speech, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. It also found that more than three-quarters had increased their teaching and nonteaching staff to levels exceeding those before the pandemic. 26-103, are to receive a salary increase in the 2019-2020 school year. 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. 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. As a result, the amount appropriated provides enough funding to give a raise of $1,220 rather than $1,200 over twelve months. Hofmeister is the Democratic nominee for governor and the top challenger to Stitt, a Republican, in the Nov. 8 general election. At the graduate level, 13% of institutions had a significant drop in enrollment in 2021. 3. Stitt unveiled Monday his executive budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Oklahomacould reach the second-highest average in the region with$59,000, should the Legislature approve the $5,000 raise. New teachers in Texas start at $44,527. A chronic teacher shortage persists in Oklahoma. That figure broke down just about evenly at the elementary and secondary education levels. 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. Oklahoma teachers have been given raises over the last four years totalling more than $7,000. Sen. Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee, filed a bill for the Lawmakers are open to the idea of merit pay, Pugh said, but weve got to raise the floor of educator salaries. As such, the expectation for charter schools with certified personnel remains the same as for all districts. The Oklahoma State Board of Education approved a proposal from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters to base teacher pay raises on merit. The state's largest teachers union, the Oklahoma Education Association, said educator salaries should be competitive with the rest of the region. The raise is Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. If Pembertons bills pass, he said it wouldnt prohibit the legislature from implementing more raises in the future. The number of students enrolling in teacher preparation programs fell by 80% at Oklahomas colleges and universities, showing a dramatic decline in interest to enter the teaching profession, according to a 2020 report from the Center for Education Progress. 2023 Oklahoma Council Of Public Affairs. A reminder: This raise is permanent and recurring, and State Law prohibits a teachers salary from being reduced from one year to the next. One unfortunate result has been that teachers are leaving the profession in droves. The expectation is for all LEAs, including those not receiving state appropriated dollars through the funding formula (commonly referred to as off the formula districts). Pemberton said its up to the legislature to catch Oklahoma up. New Mexico is expected to surge to No. Previous pay raises for all educators have proven to increase quality candidates to the profession.". That was the last survey taken by the organization prior to the first round of teacher pay increases. 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. He told The Center Square he hoped the pay raises would alleviate the state's teacher shortage. (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. In the wake of a statewide teacher walkout, the Legislature raised teacher salaries by $6,100in 2018 and by $1,200 in 2019. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time. Because teacher retirement benefits are tied to the last three years of income, one impact of the teacher pay raises was to temporarily slow the pace of retirements while educators racked up credit for newly increased salaries. combined with more legislative efforts this year will start attracting new teachers and retaining current teachers. Oklahoma teacher pay raise bill clears first legislative hurdle Oklahoma starts its minimum salary scale at $36,601 for first-year educators. We have to keep pace with the surrounding states, Hofmeister said. Read the reports and hear the stories onNPR member stations. How will OSDE calculate underpaid teachers in FY 20? Teacher Pay 13. Its also the fourth lowest in the region. Senate Bill 482 would raise the base salary for public-school teachers in their first four years of service by $3,000. An Oklahoma lawmaker is pushing for a teacher pay raise to combat the states teacher shortage. For support staff and paraprofessionals, its a little more complicated: would give districts $1,200 per support staff member. Oklahoma 10. 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. Part of the increase, should lawmakers give the OK, would include a $100 million investment in kindergarten through third-grade literacy. As a result, the funding for increases will be distributed through the formula. Also not included, is any of the money the state took in through various opioid settlements. Teachers with 15 years of experience and more would receive a $6,000 raise. The drop in education employment resulting from the pandemic was the largest ever. The measure passed the Senate Appropriations Committee by a vote of 21-0. StateImpact Oklahoma reports on energy and the environment, education, health, criminaljustice, and the intersection of government and everyday Oklahomans. The measure, which the governor backed, would use excess lottery proceeds to pay for half of a teachers raise. No later than February 1, 2020, the State Department of Education shall make this data available on its website for public viewing and shall submit a report to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 5. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). $5,000 pay raise proposal for Oklahoma teachers passes Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic, Stanley Hupfeld at Western Village (Charter), Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences (Charter. Yes. 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. A 2% adjustment could be doable, he said. 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. The earliest SoonerCare 2.0 could take effect would be in fiscal year 2022 because it will take time for the state to apply for the federal waiver and prepare for the expansion, he said. Kevin Stitts State of the State speech To explore this issue, eSpark looked at the numbers behind teacher shortages, citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Education's Higher Education Act Title II State Report Card System. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. And he said the dramatic increase in teacher pay since 2018 has done little or nothing to attract new people to the teaching profession. In order to meet these deadlines in a timely fashion, OSDE will calculate the amount of raise for each teacher based on the October 1 personnel reporting period and subsequently provide this information as required. Senate Bill 28 would give teachers $6,000 over 9 years, divided into three $2,000 raises. "The metrics used to determine merit-based pay are controversial and inequitable," OEA President Katherine Bishop said. But by the 2019-2020 school year, the number of teachers fell to 3.2 million and by 2020-2021 to just over 3 million. You can cancel at any time. Teachers in the state earn an average of $54,096 a year. Senate Bill 267 passed the Oklahoma Senate on a 36-11 vote. We already have a teacher shortage, now the pipeline is almost empty. A $5,000 teacher pay raise proposal will advance to the state Legislature after passing a Thursday vote by the Oklahoma State Board of Education. The Center for American Progress reported some startling numbers the year before the coronavirus pandemica more than 50% drop in teacher education in nine states. In Hofmeisters budget, there was a plan to provide a $5,000 pay raise for all teachers. It is clear that the pay raise legislation is intended to give districts the maximum flexibility in implementing pay raises. "The metrics used to determine merit-based pay are controversial and inequitable," OEA President Katherine Bishop said in a statement. Flat wages, heavy workloads, and the politicization of schools have been cited as some of the biggest influences behind these decreases. Is this amount appropriated for the raise for 10 months only? 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. For support staff and paraprofessionals, its a little more complicated: Senate Bill 25 would give districts $1,200 per support staff member.