Oklahoma lawmakers at a lunchtime forum in Jenks said teacher pay raises will be the top priority in the 2017 session when it comes to education.
State Rep. Michael Rogers said legislators need to not get ahead of themselves in proposing solutions, though.
"I've seen $1,000 pay raise ideas. I've seen $5,000. I've seen $10,000. And they're all great and noble ideas, but at the end of the day, you have to pay for it," Rogers said. "So, I've been calling on my legislative colleagues to not roll out anything until they've got a way to fund it and pay for it. Because if not, it's false hope, and I don't think it's fair to our teachers."
Rogers said the estimated cost of a $5,000 raise for all teachers, including additional costs to the state like Social Security contributions, is $300 million. Oklahoma’s budget shortfall could be twice that next year.
The head of the Republican caucus said teachers don’t have it as bad as it seems. State Sen. Gary Stanislawski said while Oklahoma ranks nearly last in teacher salaries, it’s near the middle in total compensation.
For example, he said many Texas teachers are on the hook for both their portion and their state’s portion of Social Security contributions.
"Well, we have not done that in Oklahoma. That needs to be included. We're one of the few — if not the only — state that pays 100 percent of the teachers' health insurance," Stanislawski said.
Stanislawski has said something will be done to improve teacher pay next session, but he wants people to see the whole picture as well.
Some education policies might make it onto the legislature's agenda, too. There’s dissatisfaction with the state’s A–F school grading system, which the state Department of Education is re-evaluating.
But the system is in statutes, so lawmakers — not educators — must change it. If it were put into a rulemaking process, state Rep. Jadine Nollan said there wouldn’t be scenarios like a federally recognized school in her district getting just a B from the state.
"The way it is right now, our state Department of Ed can't look at that and can't go, 'Oh. What created that problem, and how can we adjust it?'" Nollan said.
Nollan, Stanislawski and Rogers were among 11 Republican lawmakers at an annual legislative luncheon hosted by Jenks Public Schools. Rep. Carol Bush, Rep. Katie Henke, Rep. Glen Mulready, Sen. Joe Newhouse, Sen. Dave Rader, Rep. Chuck Strohm and Rep. Weldon Watson.
