Supt. Hofmeister
proposes 5-year plan
Raising state average teacher pay to regional average
#OKhigh5 would also raise
number of days of instruction
OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 26, 2015) — State Superintendent of
Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister today unveiled a proposed five-year plan to
elevate teacher pay to the regional average and the number of days of
instruction to the national average.
The plan ultimately
would provide Oklahoma teachers with a $5,000 pay increase over 2012-13 figures
and add five days of instruction to the school year after five years.
Dubbed #OKhigh5,
the proposal would cost $150 million its initial year, which represents the
bulk of the requested $205 million budget increase to the Oklahoma State Board
of Education for Fiscal Year 2016.
Hofmeister
said higher teacher pay is a critical part of resolving a significant teacher
shortage. According to the Oklahoma State School Boards Association, there are
close to 1,000 teacher positions needing to be filled statewide.
“It’s no secret that Oklahoma teachers are woefully underpaid and
classrooms are overcrowded,” Hofmeister said. “Schools are understaffed. A
combination of low teacher pay and declining job satisfaction is driving
teachers out of the profession or to other states. If we want higher student
outcomes, we need to ensure we attract and retain top talent in Oklahoma
classrooms.”
The proposal
would provide a $2,000 pay raise and two additional days of instruction for the
2015-16 school year. Pay would increase annually until the 2019-20 school year,
when Oklahoma’s average teacher salary would be $49,677 — more than $5,300 over
the state’s average teacher pay from 2012-13.
Only two
states — Mississippi and South Dakota — have lower average teacher pay than
Oklahoma, where the average is $44,128. That is $3,248 less than the average
annual teacher pay in surrounding states.
“Oklahoma
teachers do an incredible job on behalf of our schoolchildren, and they need
and deserve competitive compensation. I look forward to working with the
Legislature and the Governor in realizing our mutual goal of showing our
teachers how much we value them,” said Hofmeister.
For more information on the proposed budget, click here. (#OKhigh5 information on pages 6-8)
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