Education leaders hold out hope special session will produce teacher pay raise

It at least gives them another chance to call for one.

“The best-case scenario for us is for our state legislators to make the necessary decisions to allow our school districts to provide our teachers with a competitive professional salary,” said Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist.

School districts continue to grapple with teachers leaving the state — or the profession entirely — as they search for better pay. Oklahoma ranked 49th in teacher pay in the latest National Education Association survey.

Gov. Mary Fallin called the special session earlier this month after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that a cigarette fee passed by the Legislature was unconstitutional, leaving a huge hole in the state budget. The fee was expected to generate $257 million.

A teacher pay raise was among the goals the governor recommended for lawmakers in the special session, which begins Monday.

Fallin said on Friday that she would veto any special session proposals that further cut state agency budgets or passed the decision on a cigarette tax hike along to state voters.

The budget shortfall that is sending legislators back to work weighed on the minds of some.

“For TPS, it (the best-case scenario) would be a fully vetted budget that has recurring and sustainable revenue that includes a robust teacher raise,” said Suzanne Schreiber, president of the TPS board.

Kirt Hartzler, superintendent of Union Public Schools, said while a pay raise should be an imperative for the state, the main focus should be on shoring up the budget so the cuts aren’t felt more.

Gist says a competitive pay raise would begin to close the gap between Oklahoma and neighboring states.

“The difference between what our teachers can make compared to some of the surrounding states is $20,000. That’s the difference. That’s for beginning teachers. And certainly there are really huge differences for experience teachers, so the gap is pretty significant,” she said.

The average teacher salary in Tulsa Public Schools is $39,434, the district said Friday. Its starting salary for new teachers with a Bachelor’s degree and no experience is $32,900. In Plano, Texas, that same teacher would make $50,000.

The state’s fiscal issues are a cause of frustration for some, a belief that they weren’t a surprise but something that has long been on the horizon.

“This hit us like a rusty locomotive, like we’ve been seeing it in the distance, coming, coming at us and we didn’t do anything to get out of the way,” said Kathy Dodd, associate superintendent at Union.

“And now it’s hit and some of our very best teachers who are 25 years into this profession have left, gone to a nearby state. We would hope for a teacher salary and per-pupil expenditure being at or above the regional average. ... Not to say ‘we’re going to add $1,000 next year and $2,000 next year.’ No ... we have to have a swift response to the market forces.”