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Oklahoma approves teacher pay increase while Arizona educators rally

March 30, 2018 02:12·
Oklahoma teachers win major pay raises from GOP legislature with threat of walkout

Oklahoma teachers win major pay raises from GOP legislature with threat of walkout

This will be the first tax increase from Oklahoma lawmakers since State Question 640, which was a vote of the people to place constraints on lawmakers when it came to raising taxes. It outlines plans to raise the state's gross production tax to five-percent, while also increasing taxes on gasoline, hotels, and tobacco. The hotel/motel tax is estimated to generate $50.4 million annually and provide $46.2 million for appropriations in the FY19 budget.

The state government has cut education spending by 28.2 percent since the financial crash of 2008-the biggest funding cuts in the country.

Today marks a historical moment for Oklahoma teachers, students, and families.

"The teachers are supposedly preparing meals to give to students on free and reduced school lunches to make sure they have something to eat while school isn't in session and everyone is preparing for a 'second spring break" next week".

Oklahoma teachers had vowed to walk out of the classroom en masse beginning Monday, April 2 if the legislature didn't take action to increase their long-stagnant pay, which is among the lowest in the nation. It's a significant investment in economic development because an educated workforce is essential to growing and expanding our economy. Lawmakers said the bill would fund an average teacher pay raise of more than $6,000. This is a responsible plan that answers Oklahomans' call for the Legislature to find a solution to teacher pay.

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The bill now up for a vote would only support a $5,000 raise for beginning teachers, and an $8,000 for teachers with 25 years of experience.

The measure, though welcomed by union leaders as a step in the right direction, still accounts for less than the state lost in tax revenues when it slashed gross production taxes on oil from 7 percent to 2 per cent and on horizontal drilling for shale oil to just 1 percent during the fracking boom. I am grateful for the strong bipartisan support on behalf of Oklahoma's schoolkids. Teachers in NY, the top-ranked state in terms of teacher pay, made $79,152 on average in 2016. It's what we've done for years and years and it's what's best is for us to be there.

The bill was approved by Oklahoma's House on Monday. "This vote is a bright light for public education in Oklahoma".

"While this is major progress, this investment alone will not undo a decade of neglect", said Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) President Alicia Priest in a press release. Teachers have been wearing red shirts every Wednesday and encouraging supporters to do the same, according to the Arizona Education Association, which has 20,000 members who are teachers, counselors, bus drivers and retired educators.

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